THE     A  I)  VEX  TIT  RES 
Iff  _^- — - 


OF 


E  O   B  I  N      DAT 


ROBERT  MONTGOMERY JBIH I ),M.  D. 

I 'HOB  OP 

v?AIV     "THE  INFIDEL,"     "NICK  OF  THE  WOODS,"    &c. 


— •> — Of  most  disastrous  chances; 
Of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field; 
Of  hair-breadth  'scapes  i'  the  imminent  deadly  broach  T 
Of  being  taken  by  the  insolent  foe, 
And  sold  to  slavery;  of  ray  redemption  thence, 
And  'portance  in  my  travel's  history. 

OTHELLO. 


NEW  YORK  : 
JOHN  POLIIKMUS,  PUBLISHER, 

102  XASSAI    STKEKT,  COR.  ANN. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

The  Neptunian  origin  of  Robin  Day;  with  an  account  of  his  early  friends, 
Mother  Moll  and  Skipper  Duck,  and  his  preferment  to  a  fat  office 0 

CHAPTER  II. 

An  adventure  of  a  Goose  and  a  Gander,  with  what  happened  thereupon  to  Rob- 
in Day 16 

CHAPTER  III. 

Robin  Day  begins  his  education,  and  advances  in  the  opinion  of  the  world 23 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Three  years  at  school,  under  the  ancient  system  of  education  ;  with  an  account 
of  Robin's  rival,  the  heroic  Dicky  Dare,  and  the  war  of  the  Feds  and  Demies.  30 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  patriot  Dare  preaching  the  doctrine  of  schoolboys'  rights,   and  the  young  . 
Republicans  strike  for  freedom 36 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Academy  is  converted  into  a  Republic,  and  how  it  prospered  under  its 
Presidents 42 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  conspiracy  against  the  liberties  of  the  infant  'republic ;  and  President 
M'Goggin  is  elected  to  rule  over  it 46 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

President  M'Goggiu  converts  his  government  into  a  despotism  ;  the  patriots 
rise  in  insurrection,  and  strike  a  terrible  blow  for  freedom  ;  the  effects  of  the 
great  battle  between  the  oppressor  and  the  oppressed 50 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Robin  escapes  from  slavery,  and  begins  to  be  a  young  person  of  promise 53 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  unconquerable  Dare  organizes  a  new  conspiracy,  and  the  tyrant  is  at  last 
stormed  in  his  citadel  and  overthrown ...  59 


78*32X2 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Page 

In  which  Robin  Day  stumbles  upon  another  acquaintance  and  companion  in  af- 
fliction   181 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

A  conversation  between  Robin  Day  and  his  friend  Captain  Brown,  in  which  the 
latter  throws  some  light  upon  the  adventure  of  the  highwayman 1<S4- 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  two  friends  put  themselves  into  disguise,  and  make  preparations  for  a 
career  of  philanthropy 190 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Containing  Robin  Ray's  first  essay  as  a  quack  doctor,  and  the  wonderful  effects 
of  the  Magian  medicines 1% 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

The  Mermaid's  Eggs  effect  a  miraculous  cure,  and  Chowder  Chow  rises  in  repu- 
tation   204 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

The  progress  of  Chowder  Chow  and  his  master,  continued 207 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Another  miraculous  cure,  but  the  credit  of  which  Chowder  Chow  is  willing 
should  rest  with  Captain  Brown  entirely 211 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Chowder  Chow  performs,  as  he  hopes,  his  last  cure,  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Fa- 
bius  Maximus  Feverage 214 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Robin  Day  meets  an  astonishing  reverse  of  fortune,  and  plays  the  Magian  on  his 
own  account 219 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

Robin  Day  escapes  from  slavery,  is  chased  by  a  bloody-minded  pursuer,  and  re- 
lieved by  an  unexpected  friend 227 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

In  which  Robin  retrieves  his  reputation  in  the  opinion  of  Dicky  Dare,  and  is  re- 
stored to  the  friendship  of  that  heroic  adventurer 2#i 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

Robin  Day  and  his  commander,  Captain  Dare,  set  out  again  for  the  wars,  and 
win  a  great  victory  along  the  way  ;  in  which,  as  is  usual,  all  the  honor  and 
profit  fall  to  the  commander's  share 25W 

CHAPTER  XLV1. 

The  Bloody  Volunteers  arrive  at  the  field  of  battle,  and  acquire  distinction  un- 
der the  command  of  Captain  Dare 245 


CONTENTS.  Vil 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

Page 

Captain  Dare,  at  the  head  of  his  Bloody  Volunteers,  wins  ne\v  laurels  by  the 
storm  and  capture  of  an  Indian  village 252 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Captain  Dare,  with  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  attempts  the  conquest  of  the  Indian 
country.  He  fights  a  great  battle,  and  fortune  declares  against  him— but 
still  more  decidedly  against  Robin  Day,  who  falls  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. . . . • 255 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

Robin  Day,  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians,  is  carried  to  their  village,  where  he 
is  made  to  run  the  gauntlet ;  the  happy  device  which  he  puts  into  execution 
against  his  tormentors 261 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

How  the  Indians  condemn  Robin  Day  to  the  stake,  along  with  Captain  Brown, 
their  adopted  brother,  and  in  what  manner  the  two  are  saved  from  being 
burned  alive 269 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Robin  is  separated  from  his  fellow  fugitive,  and  after  wandering  through;  the 
wilderness,  stumbles  on  his  old  friends,  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  and,  with 
that  corps  of  heroes,  is  taken  prisoner  by  the  Spaniards  of  Florida 274' 

CHAPTER  L. 

The  Bloody  Volunteers  are  carried  to  Pensacola,  where  Robin  Day  receives  an 
agreeable  surprise 280 

CHAPTER  LI. 

In  which  Robin  Day  makes  ragjd  progress  in  the  regards  of  the  fair  Isabel 287 

CHAPTER  LII. 

Robin  Day  is  surprised  by  the  appearance  of  Skipper  Duck  and  other  old  friends  292 

CHAPTER  LIIL 

In  which  Robin  Day  meets  another  surprise,  and  a  perilous  one,  which  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  story  of  much  interest  to  the  Intendent 296 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

A  denouement  and  catastrophe,  and  Robin  Day  loses  the  favor  of  the  Intend- 
ent, and  is  packed  off  to  a  fort  for  safe-keeping 303 

CHAPTER  LV. 

Robin  Day  escapes  against  his  will  from  the  fort,  and  finds  himself  a  third  time 
on  board  the  Jumping  Jenny 308 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

The  Jumping  Jenny  hoists  the  black  flag,  attacks  and  captures  a  superior  ves- 
sel, and  Robin  Day  finds  himself  a  pirate 31$ 


viii  -CONTES  T  .-. 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

Page 

In  which  Robin  Day  is  carried  to  Cuba,  and  made  acquainted  with  the  tender 
mercies  of  pirate  law  and  Captain  Hellcat 317 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

The  second  cruise  of  the  Viper ;  she  captures  the  Querida,  and  the  Intendent's 
daughter  becomes  the  prize  of  Captain  Hellcat 333 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

Robin  Day  adopts  a  desperate  resolution,  and  escapes  from  the  pirates,  with  the 
beautiful  Isabel ;  and  what  fell  out  thereupon 338 

CHAPTER  LX. 

The  voyage  in  the  jollyboat;  in  which  Robin  Day  makes  an  interesting  and  sur- 
prising discovery 336 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

Robin  Day  and  Isabel  are  rescued  from  the  jollyboat  by  an  American  schooner ; 
which  is  taken  by  the  pirates,  and  Robin  is  again  their  prisoner 344 

CHAPTER  LXIL 

The  pirates  are  chased  by  the  armed  brig  Vengador,  and,  in.  the  pursuit,  both 
vessels  are  driven  ashore : 353 

CHAPTER  LXIII. 

The  battle  between  the  wrecked  pirates  and  their  wrecked  enemies,  and  what 
happened  therein  to  Robin  Day 357 

CHAPTER  LXIV. 

In  which  Robin  Day  meets  with  many  delightful  surprises,  takes  a  new  name, 
and  explains  such  circumstances  as  require  explanation 361 

CHAPTER  LXV. 
In  which  Robin  Day  takes  leave  of  his  adventures  and  the  reader 368 


THE    ADVENTURES 


OF 


ROBIN      DAY 


CHAPTER  I. 

The,  Neptunian  origin  of  Robin  Day  •  with  an  account  of  his 
early  friends,  Mother  Moll  and  Skipper  Duck,  and  his  pre- 
ferment to  a  fat  office. 

ST  LLA,  the  Roman  dictator,  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  great 
man  on  record  who  attributed  his  advancement  to  good  luck;  all 
other  great  men  being  modestly  content  to  refer  their  successes 
in  life  to  their  own  merits;  insisting,  with  the  philosophers,  that 
there  is  not,  in  reality,  any  such  thing  as  luck  at  all,  good,  bad  or 
indifferent,  but  that  every  man's  fortune,  whether  happy  or  evil, 
is  referable  to  his  own  agency,  the  direct  result  of  his  own  wise 
or  foolish  actions.  Such  may  be  the  fact,  for  aught  I  can  say, 
(it  is  a  comfortable  doctrine  for  the  fortunate),  and  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  controvert  it;  but  of  one  thing  I  am  very  certain,  namely, 
that  whether  there  be  bad  luck  in  the  world  or  not,  there  is  an 
abundance  of  those  unhappy  personages  who  are  commonly  con- 
sidered its  victims — that  is  to  say,  unlucky  dogs ;  of  which  race 
I  was  undoubtedly  born  a  member. 

My  introduction  into  the  world  was,  of  itself,  sufficient  to  estab- 
lish my  claim  to  preeminence  in  misfortune ;  for,  from  all  I  was 
ever  able  to  learn,  instead  of  making  my  appearance  in  the  usual 
way,  I  came  ashore,  one  stormy  night  in  September,  in  the  year 
1796,  upon  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  washed  up  by  the  sea,  like 
a  king-crab;  with  this  advantage,  however,  that  I  had  for  my 
shell,  or  cradle,  the  battered  hull  of  a  Yankee  schooner,  which,  if 


10  ADVENTURES    OF 

it  did  not  keep  me  as  dry  and  snug  as  was  desirable,  preserved  me, 
at  least,  from  being  swallowed  up  by  the  raging  billows.  In 
other  words,  I  was  cast  ashore  in  a  wreck — "  name  unknown,"  as 
the  gazettes  say,  from  which  I  was  taken,  a  puny  little  bantling 
of  some  twelve  or  fifteen  months  old,  half  famished  and  half 
drowned,  the  only  living  creature,  save  two  ducks  that  were 
soaking  in  a  coop,  and  a  broken-backed  cat  in  the  forecastle,  that 
escaped. 

The  particulars  of  this  eventful  catastrophe,  there  were  many 
good  reasons  why  I,  though  so  much  interested  in  knowing  them, 
should  never  succeed  in  making  myself  perfectly  acquainted  with. 
The  scene  of  disaster  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Barnegat,  a 
place  famous  in  the  annals  of  shipwreck;  and  the  vessel,  there 
was  little  doubt,  contained  a  rich  freight  of  rum  and  sugar,  and 
other  West  Indian  products,  which  it  was  manifestly  nobody's 
business  to  know  how  to  account  for.  Besides,  it  was  thought 
not  improbable  that  the  wreck  of  this  particular  schooner  was 
owing  less  to  the  fury  of  the  storm  than  to  the  instrumentality  of 
the  people  of  the  coast — land  pirates,  as  they  have  been  called 
from  time  immemorial — who  were  often  accused  in  past  days,  as 
sometimes  in  the  present,  of  setting  up  false  beacons,  to  decoy  un- 
suspecting mariners  to  their  ruin.  I  have  even  heard  it  said, 
there  was  a  rumor  at  the  time  that  the  crew  of  the  unfortunate 
vessel  (whose  disappearance  could  not  be  otherwise  accounted  for), 
had  met  with  foul  play  from  the  wreckers  ;  which,  if  true,  was  a 
better  reason  than  all  for  their  keeping  a  veil  of  obscurity  over  the 
whole  aifair.  But  this  rumor,  after  all,  had  no  better  foundation 
than  surmise,  and  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  malicious  people  to 
explain  the  disappearance  of  the  crew,  which  was  undoubtedly  a 
very  remarkable  feature  in  the  shipwreck,  in  the  most  unfavorable 
way.  It  was  more  charitable  to  suppose  they  had  been  sud- 
denly washed  from  the  deck  by  some  furious  billow,  which  had 
carried  away  every  thing  above  board  ;  and  that  I  owed  my  pres- 
ervation to  being  left  nestling  in  »the  highest  berth  in  the  cabin, 
whence  I  was  plucked  by  my  robber  preservers. 

Another  reason  why  the  particulars  were  never  known,  was  that 
no  one  interested  ever  made  inquiry.  No  agent  or  emissary  of 
owner  or  underwriter,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  ever  visited  the  spot 
to  investigate  the  circumstances  attending  the  wreck,  or  attempted 
the  recovery  of  the  property  lost  :  which,  I  suppose,  was  be- 


KOBIN   D.VY.  11 

cause  the  news  of  the  disaster  never  traveled  more  than  a  dozen 
miles  from  the  scene,  and  then  only  among  ptople,  who,  whatever 
cause  they  might  have  to  report  the  worst  of  it  among  themselves, 
had  too  much  interest  in  the  preservation  of  coast  privileges — 
the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  flotsam  and  jetsam — to  invite  the 
interference  of  strangers  and  law  officers.  As  for  myself,  I  think 
the  reader  will  allow,  I  was  entirely  too  young  to  trouble  myself 
in  the  matter  ;  or,  indeed,  to  know  anything  about  it.  Who  were 
my  parents,  or  whether  I  had  any,  were  questions  which,  as  they 
concerned  nobody,  so  nobody  cared  to  inquire.  But,  I  believe,  it 
•was  generally  thought  among  those  who  had  the  first  charge  of 
me,  I  must  have  been  the  son  of  the  ship's  cook,  as  I  had  an*  in- 
ordinate love  of  good  eating,  with  a  judgment  in  dainties  which 
could  only  be  expected  from  one  who  had  been  indulged  in  the 
fat  of  the  caboose  ;  besides  showing,  when  I  grew  a  year  or  two 
older,  an  extraordinary  tact  in  roasting  crabs  and  fiddlers,  oysters 
and  sand-eels,  and  such  other  stray  edibles  as  I  could  lay  my 
hands  on. 

My  earliest  recollections  go  back  to  some  such  scenes  ;  and  I 
have  a  vague  remembrance  that  I  lived  a  life  of  famine  in  a  mis- 
erable hut  by  the  sea-side,  with  an  old  beldam,  who  used  to  wear 
a  sailor's  tarpaulin  hat  and  pea-jacket,  and  was,  as  I  have  been 
since  informed,  a  very  Semiramis  among  land-pirates,  and  had  not 
only  been  engaged  in  robbing,  but  had  been  the  actual  cause  of, 
more  wrecks  than  any  man  on  the  coast.  She  had  a  wretched  lit- 
tle starveling  pony,  whose  legs  she  used  to  tie  together  of  nights, 
and,  having  hung  a  lantern  to  his  side,  send  him  stumbling  along 
the  beach  ;  in  which  operation,  the  motion  of  the  lantern  rocking 
up  and  down,  had  the  appearance,  to  persons  on  the  sea,  of  a  light 
from  a  vessel  sailing  along  the  coast  ;  and  thus  was  undoubtedly 
sometimes  the  cause  of  the  observers  driving  on  shore  before  they 
dreamed  they  were  nigh  it.  Of  this  circumstance  I  have  the  bet- 
ter recollection  as  I  myself  was  frequently  sent  out,  especially  in 
bitter  stormy  nights,  when  such  stratagems  was  most  practiced,  to 
keep  the  said  pony  to  his  duty,  by  whipping  him  up  and  down  the 
sands  ;  an  employment  in  which  if  I  at  any  time  failed,  by  drop- 
ping asleep  from  cold  or  fatigue,  or  sneaking  away  under  a  sand- 
hill, to  shelter  me  from  the  winds,  I  was  sure  to  be  rewarded  with 
such  a  drubbing  as  kept  me  in  memory  of  my  fault  for  a  week 
after.  I  am  pretty  confident,  indeed,  it  was  with  an  eye  to  my  f u- 


12  ADVENTURES    OP 

ture  usefulness  in  this  line  of  employment,  that  old  Mother  Moll 
(for  by  that  name  they  called  her),  after  helping  herself  to  such 
other  valuables  in  the  wreck  (which  she  was  one  of  the  first  to  en- 
ter) as  she  could  lay  hands  on,  deigned  in  like  manner  to  add  un- 
lucky me  to  her  share  of  plunder,  and  carry  me  to  her  hovel  ; 
where,  first  under  the  name  of  Sammy  September — a  title  given 
me  by  the  wreckers,  in  memory,  I  suppose,  of  the  month  of  ship- 
wreck, and,  next,  under  that  of  Robin  Rusty,  which  became,  at 
last,  the  more  frequent  appellation — I  had  the  satisfaction  to  be 
cuffed  about  from  morning  till  night,  and  from  one  year's  end  to 
the  other,  until  rescued  by  a  change  of  fate  from  her  intolerable 
clutches. 

She  had  the  greater  need  of  some  such  assistant,  as  the  only 
other  being  over  whom  she  had  any  control,  a  reprobate  son, 
called  Isaac,  or  Ikey,  was  now  grown  a  huge,  hulking  hobbledehoy 
of  fourteen,  was  waxing  day  by  day  more  restive  and  intolerant  of 
authority,  and  betraying  every  evidence  of  a  manly  inclination, 
sooner  or  later,  to  give  her  the  slip,  and  set  up  in  the  world  for 
himself.  He  was,  assuredly,  a  most  graceless  and  abandoned 
young  scoundrel — a  worthy  son  of  such  a  parent ;  arid  I  have  a 
recollection  of  his  communicating  to  me  one  day,  which  he  did 
with  much  apparent  satisfaction,  his  expectation  in  about  one 
year  more,  of  being  able  to  trounce,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  to 
"  lick,"  his  mother ;  an  idea,  which,  I  must  confess,  was  infin- 
itely agreeable  to  my  infant  fancies,  as  it  associated  the  prospect 
of  my  being  able,  in  course  of  time,  to  do  the  same  thing  myself, 
and  thereby  requite  some  of  the  million  afflictions  which  Mother 
Moll  was  in  the  daily  practice  of  dispensing  on  my  own  cheeks 
and  shoulders.  I  had  this  addition,  however,  to  the  conception, 
and  the  pleasure  of  it,  in  my  own  case  ;  inasmuch  as  I  hoped  that 
the  day  which  should  see  rne  able  to  settle  accounts  with  Mistress 
Moll,  would  find  me  in  a  condition  to  award  the  same  justice  to 
her  son  Ikey  ;  for  I  know  not  which  used  me  most  cruelly,  from 
whom  I  received  the  greatest  number  of  daily  drubbings,  or  which 
of  them  I  most  heartily  detested. 

It  was  to  the  excess  of  severity  of  this  she-barbarian  and  her 
savage  son  that  I  finally,  at  the  age  of  about  seven  years-,  owed 
my  escape  from  their  hands  ;  for  their  cruelty  being  observed  by 
others  of  the  wreckers,  excited  a  kind  of  indignation  and  pity  even 
among  them ;  and  one  of  them,  a  fellow  named  Day,  though 


EOBIN   DAY.  13 

better  known  under  the  nickname  of  Duck,  which  he  himself 
commonly  accepted  and  acknowledged,  the  skipper  and  owner  of 
a  shallop,  the  Jumping  Jenny,  in  which  he  carried  wood,  oysters 
fish,  and  sundry  other  articles  of  merchandise,  including  at  times, 
the  plunder  of  the  wreckers,  to  New  York  and  other  places, 
interfered  one  day  in  my  favor  ;  and,  having  tried  more  amicable 
means  in  vain,  seized  me  and  carried  me  off  by  force.  It  is  true, 
that  he  afterwards,  in  a  fit  of  generosity,  sent  the  old  beldam  a 
cask  of  rum,  which  he  had,  in  the  beginning,  offered  as  the  price 
of  my  ransom,  and  which  she  was  now  glad  to  receive  as  a  com- 
pensation in  full  for  her  loss. 

It  was  for  this  reason,  I  suppose,  that  my  humane  deliverer 
ever  after  chose  to  regard  me  as  his  property,  an  item  of  his  goods 
and  chattels,  bought  at  what  he  always  assured  me  was  a  price 
infinitely  above  my  value,  a  movable  which  nobody  could  doubt 
his  light  to  do  with  whatever  he  pleased. 

Having  settled  this  point  to  his  satisfaction — and,  perhaps,  also, 
to  mine,  for  I  never  dreamed  of  disputing  it — he  proceeded  to  de- 
port himself  accordingly  ;  and  the  end  was,  that,  before  I  had  been 
a  month  in  his  employ,  I  was  convinced  that  the  servitude  I  had 
endured  under  Mother  Moll,  infernal  though  it  might  be  called, 
was  a  kind  of  paradise,  compared  with,  the  purgatory  of  bondage 
to  which  I  was  now  reduced  by  my  generous  and  tender  skipper. 

The  first  thing  the  tyrant  did,  after  getting  me  on  board,  was  to 
appoint  me  to  the  honorable  office  of  ship's  cook  ;  an  appointment 
which  I  doubtless  owed  in  part  to  the  talents  I  had  already  dis- 
played in  that  line,  while  living  with  Mother  Moll,  though  more, 
perhaps,  to  my  being  the  only  person  of  the  whole  crew — or  rather 
of  the  ship's  company,  for  crew  there  was  none,  there  being, 
besides  the  captain,  only  one  other  man  on  board,  and  he  called 
himself  the  mate — who  could  be  spared  for  such  a  duty.  Nor 
should  I  have  been  in  less  danger  of  the  appointment,  had  my 
talents  been  inferior,  or  my  years  even  fewer  ;  the  only  qualifica- 
tions for  the  office  being  that  I  should  be  old  and  strong  enough 
to  hold  up  the  end  of  a  frying-pan,  and  of  sufficient  experience  to 
know,  as  captain  Duck  said,  a  potatoe  from  a  pig's  foot.  The 
appetite  of  my  noble  captain  being  extremely  artless  and  unso- 
phisticated, never  aspired  beyond  the  two  simple  dishes  of  aboil  and 
a  fry,  as  he  was  used  to  call  them  ;  and  the  preparation  of  these  was 
always  the  same,  no  matter  what  might  be  the  variation  in  the 


14  ADVENTURES    OF 

materials,  which  were  only  determined  by  the  contents  of  the  lar- 
der. If  a  boil  were  ordered,  all  my  duty  consisted  in  tumbling 
into  the  pot,  along  with  a  sufficiency  of  water,  a  specimen  of  every 
eatable  on  board,  fish,  fowl,  and  flesh,  salt  and  fresh,  beans, 
peas,  pumpkins  and  potatoes,  clams,  oysters,  onions,  and  what 
not,  and  boiling  away  at  a  furious  rate,  until  the  signal  was 
given  for  serving  up,  by  the  skipper  roaring  to  me,  "  dinner  !  you 
son  of  a  cook's  jackass  !"  If  a  fry,  the  operation  was  equally 
simple,  as  nothing  was  to  be  done  but  to  throw  the  same  articles 
into  the  pan,  with  a  pound  or  two  of  slush,  and  keep  up  the  fire 
until  the  mate,  in  his  turn,  gave  the  signal  by  suddenly  whisking 
the  pan  out  of  my  hands,  and  as  suddenly  kicking  me  over  into  the 
lee  scuppers. 

When  I  was  first  made  acquainted  with  the  office  to  which  my 
skipper's  generosity  assigned  me,  I  must  confess  my  youthful 
spirits  danced  with  joy  ;  for  having  been  fairly  starved  under 
Mother  Moll's  ministry,  nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  my 
desires  than  a  post  which  assured  me,  ax  officio,  of  a  full  dinner 
every  day.  But  on  this  occasion, «s  on  a  great  many  others  that 
have  befallen  me,  I  reckoned  entirely  without  my  host  ;  being 
soon  forced  to  the  disagreeable  discovery  that  my  duty,  as  under- 
stood by  Captain  Duck,  was  to  cook  dinners,  and  not  to  eat  them. 
My  captain  was  indeed  a  brute,  arid  a  much  worse  one  than  old 
Mother  Moll  ;  who,  though  savage  enough,  had  her  seasons — few 
they  were  and  far  between — of  good  humor.  His  apparent 
humanity  in  snatching  me  from  the  dragoness,  was,  at  bottom,  the 
same  feeling  that  induced  the  latter  to  take  me  from  the  wreck  ; 
that  is,  he  had  occasion  for  my  services  ;  or  perhaps  he  was  humane 
at  the  moment  ;  for  all  persons  are  capable  of  pitying  distresses 
not  inflicted  by  themselves,  but  by  other  persons.  But  be  that  as 
it  may,  it  is  certain  that  such  touches  of  human  feeling  never 
visited  his  breast  again  ;  and  that  during  the  whole  term  of  five 
years  or  more,  that  I  remained  in  his  power,  there  was  no  tyranny 
or  cruelty  that  a  despot  could  exercise  at  the  expense  of  his  most 
helpless  slave,  which  he  did  not  make  me  suffer.  One  would  have 
thought  that  my  destitute  condition,  a  miserable  little  vagabond 
child  without  a  single  kinsman  or  friend  I  could  call  my  own, 
would  have  sometimes  awakened  his  sensibilities,  and  procured  me 
better  treatment  ;  but  I  am  rather  inclined  to  think  my  destitution 


ROBIN    DAY.  15 

only  made  him  give  a  greater  loose  to  his  ferocity,  since  there  was 
no  one  left  to  call  him  to  account. 

As  a  temper  of  such  unmitigated  barbarity  is,  fortunately,  so 
uncommon  in  the  world  that  some  will  feel  disposed  to  doubt  its 
existence,  it  is  incumbent  on  me  to  explain  the  secret  of  his  char- 
acter, which  was  reduced  to  that  extreme  pitch  of  brutality  only, 
I  believe,  by  indulgence  in  strong  liquors.  The  fellow,  in  short, 
was  a  sot,  and  had  been  all  his  life ;  not  indeed  that  he  ever  ap- 
peared to  the  world  in  a  state  of  positive  intoxication ;  for  that 
was  a  point  no  liquor  could  bring  him  to  ;  but,  as  he  was  always 
drinking,  so  his  potations  kept  him  constantly  in  a  condition  of 
sullen  fury,  like  that  of  the  Malay  who  is  smoking  opium  for  a 
muck,  and  may,  one  knows  not  how  soon,  burst  out  into  a  frenzy 
of  rage  and  murder. 

In  this  frame  of  mind,  it  may  be  supposed,  he  would  as  often 
have  vented  his  anger  upon  the  mate  as  upon  me  ;  and  this  I  have 
no  doubt  he  would  have  done,  had  not  this  useful  officer,  who 
was  his  cousin,  been  a  great  two-fisted  fellow,  who  made  no  diffi- 
culty of  knocking  him  down  and  drubbing  him  into  his  senses, 
when  the  wind  lay  in  that  direction  ;  by  which  means  it  happened 
that  the  skipper  was  forced,  in  spite  of  himself,  to  confine  his 
operations  entirely  to  me. 

The  particulars  of  his  cruel  usage  I  have  no  desire  to  enter 
upon  ;  but  their  effects  were  such,  that  at  the  beginning  of  my  thir- 
teenth year,  which  was  the  last  of  my  bondage,  I  was  a  wretched 
little  stunted  thing,  to  appearance  not  more  than  nine  years  old,  a 
picture  of  raggedness,  emaciation  and  misery,  a  creature  with  no 
more  knowledge,  intelligence,  or  spirit  than  a  ferryman's  horse, 
or  a  sick  ape ;  which  latter  animal,  I  have  often  been  told,  I  much 
more  resembled  at  that  time  than  a  hunian  child.  In  fact,  the 
brutality  of  my  skipper  had  made  me  almost  an  idiot  :  it  had 
killed  my  spirit,  and  stupefied  my  mind  ;  and  such  was  the  gross 
darkness  in  which  I  had  been  suffered  to  grow  up,  that  I  was  ig- 
norant even  of  the  existence  of  the  Great  Being,  the  refuge  of 
the  orphan,  and  the  avenger  of  his  wrongs.  I  had  never  even 
heard  .his  name,  except  in  the  execrations  with  which  my  tor- 
mentor coupled  it  a  thousand  times  a  day. 


16  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    II. 

An   adventure   of   a  goose  and  a  gander,  with  what    happened 
thereupon  to  <  Robin  Day. 

Such  a  creature  was  I,  as  wretched  and  as  hopeless,  when  the 
business  of  my  master  carried  him,  one  Summer's  day,  to  a  cer- 
tain great  town  in  New  Jersey,  situated  upon  a  river,  where  we 
cast  anchor  in  the  morning;  and  I,  without  troubling  myself  with 
any  thoughts  of  shore,  which  it  was  seldom  my  lot  to  visit,  fell  to 
work  at  my  vocation  in  preparing  my  master's  dinner,  in  the 
course  of  which  I  had  occasion  to  murder  a  venerable  old  gander 
that  had  been  squalling  in  the  coop,  in  expectation  of  his  fate,  for 
the  last  two  days.  This  execution  being  over,  and  not  without 
five  or  six  hearty  cuffs,  which  my  patron  gave  me  for  performing 
it  bunglingly,  I  sneaked  away  to  the  bows,  where,  perched  upon 
the  bowsprit,  I  began,  in  the  process  of  plucking  the  animal,  to 
distribute  a  shower  of  feathers  over  the  tide. 

This  operation,  as  it  chanced,  attracted  the  attention  of  a  knot 
of  schoolboys  who  were  playing,  some  of  them,  on  a  wharf  hard 
by,  while  three  or  four  others  were  busking  about  in  a  batteau,  to 
which  they  had  helped  themselves;  and,  whether  it  was  that  there 
was  something  more  than  usual  of  the  ludicrous  given  to  my  em- 
ployment by  my  uncouth  appearance,  or  that  the  urchins  were 
ripe  for  mischief,  they  forthwith  began  to  salute  me  with  a  battery, 
first,  of  jokes  and  sarcasms;  to  which  they  afterwards  added  an 
occasional  volley  of  pebbles  and  oyster  shells.  This  was  a  pro- 
ceeding that  caused  me  no  surprise,  for  I  had  been  too  much  ac- 
customed to  unkindness  all  my  days  to  expect  any  thing  else;  and, 
I  may  also  add,  that  such  was  the  indifference  to  bodily  pain  into 
which  I  had  been  beaten,  and  so  stupefied  within  me  were  all  the 
ordinary  instincts  of  self-preservation,  that  although  I  was  once  or 
twice  hit  by  the  missiles  cast  at  me,  and  in  danger  of  faring  still 
worse,  I  neither  removed  from  my  perch,  nor  intermitted  a  mo- 
ment in  my  task. 


ROBIN 

My  insensibility,  or  want  of  courage,  as  it  doubtless  appeared, 
gave  additional  edge  to  the  malice  of  my  persecutors;  and  those 
who  were  in  the  batteau,  having  taken  in  a  sufficient  supply  qf 
small  shot — that  is  to  say,  of  the  pebbles  and  shells  as  aforesaid — 
ventured  to  push  into  the  stream,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  me 
nearer  at  hand,  which  they  did  with  infinite  zeal  and  intrepidity; 
and  one  little  fellow  of  ten  years  old,  that  seemed  the  greatest 
imp  of  all,  the  most  voluble  in  railing  and  the  most  energetic  in 
attack,  succeeded  in  planting  upon  the  top  of  my  forehead  the 
ragged  edge  of  an  oyster  shell,  by  which  I  was  cut  to  the  bone, 
and  my  face  in  a  moment  covered  with  blood.  This,  indeed,  stung 
me  to  resentment,  for  the  anguish  of  the  wound  was  very  great ; 
but  so  sluggish  were  the  movements  of  all  my  passions  that  I  had 
scarce  proceeded  to  a  greater  length  in  the  expression  of  my  rage 
than  by  turning  a  haggard  look  of  reproach  upon  the  assailant 
when  an  accident  happened  which  changed  the  current  of  my  feel- 
ings. The  little  reprobate  who  had  immortalized  himself  by  so 
capital  a  shot  had  given  such  energy  and  strength  to  the  cast  that 
he  lost  his  balance,  pitched  forward,  and  at  the  very  moment  I 
looked  down  upon  him,  plumped,  with  a  dismal  shriek,  into  the 
river,  which  was  deep,  and  the  current  strong.  It  was  evident  the 
little  dog  could  not  swim ;  and  such  was  the  terror  which  the  ca- 
tastrophe caused  among  his  companions  that  they  lost  the  only 
oar  they  had  in  the  boat,  and  were  incapable  of  rendering  him  any 
assistance. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  hero  of  the  scene,  whose  disaster  I  re- 
garded with  sentiments  of  complacency  and  approbation  as  being 
nothing  more  than  he  deserved  for  the  unprovoked  injury  he 
had  done  me,  sank  to  the  bottom,  whence  in  a  moment  he 
came  whirling  and  gasping  to  the  surface,  and  was  swept 
by  the  tide  against  the  sloop's  cable,  which  he  attempted  to 
seize,  but  without  success,  for  though  he  had  hold  of  it  for  an 
instant,  he  was  not  able  to  maintain  his  grasp.  In  this  state  of 
the  adventure,  the  little  fellow  was  immediately  under  me,  where 
I  sat  on  the  bowsprit  ;  and  as  the  tide  swept  him  from  the  cable, 
he  looked  up  to  me  with  a  countenance  of  such  terror,  and  agony, 
and  despair,  mingled  with  imploring  entreaty — though,  being  on 
the  point  of  strangling,  he  was  neither  able  to  speak  nor  to  cry 
out — that  I  was  suddenly  struck  with  feelings  of  compassion. 
They  were  the  first  human  emotions,  I  believe,  that  had  entered 


1*  ADVENTURES    OF 

my  bosom  for  years.  And  such  was  the  strength  of  them  that 
before  I  knew  what  I  was  doing,  I  dropped  into  the  river — gander 
and  all — to  save  the  poor  little  rascal  from  drowning. 

Such  a  feat  did  not  appear  to  me  either  very  difficult  or  danger- 
ous, for  I  could  swim  like  a  duck,  and  had  had  extraordinary  ex- 
perience in  the  art  of  saving  life  in  the  water  ;  not,  indeed,  that  I 
had  ever  performed  such  service  for  anybody  but  myself,  but  in 
my  own  case  I  had  almost  daily  occasion,  for  nothing  was  more 
common  than  for  Skipper  Duck  to  take  me  by  the  nape  of  the 
neck  and  toss  me  overboard,  even  when  on  the  open  sea,  though 
the  mate  always  threw  me  a  rope  to  help  me  on  board  again,  ex- 
cept when  we  were  becalmed,  or  at  anchor,  in  which  cases  he  left 
me  to  take  care  of  myself.  In  the  present  instance,  however,  as  it- 
proved,  the  exploit  was  not  destined  to  be  performed  without  diffi- 
culty, for  dropping  down  with  more  hurry  than  forecast,  right 
before  the  stem,  and  with  a  force  that  carried  me  pretty  deep  into 
the  water,  I  was  swept  under  the  shallop's  bottom,  which,  in  the 
•effort  to  rise  to  the  surface,  I  managed  to  strike  with  my  head 
with  a  violence  that  would  undoubtedly  have  finished  me  had  not 
that  noble  excresence  been  in  those  days  of  unusual  thickness. 
The  shock  was,  however,  sufficient  to  stun  and  confound  the  small 
quantity  of  wits  I  possessed,  and  to  such  a  degree  that  I  lost  my 
hold  of  the  gander,  which,  up  to  this  moment,  I  had  clutched  with 
instinctive  care  ;  besides  which,  I  was  swept,  before  I  had  time  to 
recover  myself,  along  the  whole  of  the  sloop's  bottom  ;  and  this 
being  pretty  well  studded  with  barnacles,  young  oysters,  and  the 
heads  of  old  nails,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  enjoying  as  complete 
and  thorough  a  keelhauling  as  was  ever  administered  to  any  vaga- 
bond whatever,  my  jacket,  shirt  and  back  being  scratched  all  to 
pieces.  Of  this,  however,  as  well  as  of  the  loss  of  the  gander,  I  was 
for  a  time  quite  unconscious,  being  confused  by  the  shock  my  head 
had  suffered  ;  and  the  moment  I  succeeded  in  passing  the  rudder 
and  reaching  the  surface,  I  had  all  my  thoughts  engaged  in  rescu- 
ing the  boy,  who  had  now  sunk  two  or  three  times,  and  was,  I 
doubted  not,  sinking  for  the  last  time,  for  he  was  quite  insensible, 
when  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  reach  and  seize  him  by  the  collar. 

The  batteau  had,  by  this  time,  been  borne  by  the  tide  against 
a  projecting  wharf,  whither  I  easily  swam  with  my  charge  ;  and 
then  giving  him  up  to  his  companions,  who  had  now,  by  dint  of 
yelling,  brought  several  men  to  their  assistance,  I  took  to  my  heels, 


ROBIX    DAY.          '  1$ 

hoping  to  regain  the  sloop  before  Captain  Duck,  who  had  gone 
ashore,  should  return  and  discover  my  absence.  My  only  way  of 
getting  on  board  was  that  in  which  I  had  departed,  namely,  by 
swimming  ;  and  to  this  I  betook  me,  by  running  a  little  up  the 
stream  and  then  leaping  again  into  the  river. 

My  haste,  however,  was  vain,  the  worthy  skipper  reaching  the 
vessel  an  instant  before  myself  ;  and  when,  having  clambered  up 
by  the  hawser  and  bobstay,  I  succeeded  in  jumping  on  deck,  I — 
who  was  in  such  a  pickle,  what  with  my  clothes  torn  to  shreds,  and 
dripping  with  water,  and  the  blood  trickling  down  my  face,  as  the 
reader  cannot  conceive — found  myself  confronted  with  my  tyrant 
face  to  face.  He  gave  me  a  horrible  stare  of  surprise,  took  one 
step  forward  so  as  to  bring  me  within  reach  of  his  arm,  and  ex- 
claimed : 

"  You  draggle-tailed  tadpole  !  where  have  you  been?" — which 
question  he  accompanied  with  a  cuff  on  the  right  cheek  that  tossed 
me  full  a  fathom  to  the  larboard. 

"  Please,  sir,"  said  I,  in  as  much  terror  as  my  stupidity  was  ca- 
pable of — "  overboard,  sir." 

"  Overboard,  you  son  of  a  tinker's  cowbell !"  cried  my  master, 
giving  me  a  cuff  with  the  other  hand,  that  sent  me  just  as  far 
starboard  ;  "  what  have  you  been  doing  overboard  ?" 

"  Please,  sir,  saving  boy's  life,  sir,"  returned  unhappy  I,  begin- 
ning to  be  conscious  of  the  enormity  of  my  offense. 

"  Saving  a  boy's  life,  blast  my  fishhooks  !"  ejaculated  Skipper 
Duck,  knocking  me  again  to  larboard  :  and  here  I  may  as  well 
observe  that  this  was  his  usual  way  of  conversing  with  me,  or 
rather  of  pointing  his  conversation,  his  stops  being  usually  but 
three,  a  cuff  to  the  right  and  a  cuff  to  the  left,  which  he  alterna- 
ted with  extreme  regularity,  at  every  other  speech  ;  and  a  full  pe- 
riod used  at  the  close,  by  which  I  was  laid  as  flat  as  a  flagstone.. 
•'Saving  a  boy's  life  !"  cried  the  Skipper,  boxing  me  as  aforesaid: 
"  I  wish  all  the  boys  were  in  Old  Nick's  side-pocket,  roasting  1 
Where's  the  gander  ?" 

The  gander?  ay,  where  was  the  gander?  The  question  froze  my 
blood.  I  remembered  the  loss.  By  this  time  the  gander  was  a  mile 
down  stream,  if  not  already  lodged,  in  divided  morsels,  in  the  ca- 
pacious jaws  of  a  hundred  catfish. 

The  skipper  noticed  my  confusion,  and  his  face  of  a  sudden  be- 
came small,  being  puckered  by  an  universal  frown,  that  beg:m  {it 


20  ADVENTURES    OF 

forehead  and  chin  and  the  two  ears,  and  tended  to  the  center,  car- 
rying these  several  parts  before  it,  till  all  were  blended  in  a  knot 
of  wrinkles  scarce  bigger  than  his  nose.  He  stretched  forth  his 
hand  and  took  me  by  the  hair,  of  which  I  had  a  mop  half  as  big 
as  my  whole  body,  and  giving  his  arm  a  slow  motion  to  and  from 
him,  like  the  crank-rod,  or  whatever  they  call  it,  of  a  locomotive, 
just  as  it  is  getting  under  way,  and  making  my  head,  of  course, 
follow  in  the  same  line  of  traverse,  thundered  in  my  ears — 

"  The  gander  !  you  twin-born  of  a  horse  mackerel !  where's  the 
gander?" 

"  Please,  sir,"  I  spluttered  out,  in  a  confusion  of  intellects  that 
was  with  me  extremely  customary — "  boy  was  overboard — jumped 
overboard  to  save  him " 

"  D — n  the  boy  !"  quoth  my  honest  master  ;  "  where's  the  gan- 
der?" 

"  Please,  sir,  jumped  overboard,"  I  repeated ;  "  got  under  the 
keel  ;  knocked  head — senses  out,  and — and" — 

"  And  the  gander  ?  blast  my  fish-hooks  !  the  gander  ?" 

"Please,  sir  ;  couldn't  help — 'most  drowned — lost  it !" 

The  skipper's  eyes  rolled  in  their  sockets,  and  he  turned  them  to 
heaven,  as  if  to  invoke  thunder-bolts  of  vengeance  on  my  guilty 
head.  Then  taking  a  quid  of  tobacco,  to  compose  his  nerves,  he 
made  me  a  speech,  importing,  first,  that  he  had  bought  me  of  old 
Mother  Moll  at  the  price  of  a  ten-gallon  keg  of  rum  ;  secondly, 
that  I  was  not  worth  the  tenth  part  of  a  sous-marquee,  or  ten 
scales  of  a  red  herring  ;  thirdly,  that  I  was  the  ugliest  wall-eyed, 
shock-headed  son  of  a  ship's  monkey  he  had  ever  laid  eyes  on  ; 
fourthly,  that  he  had  always  said  I  would  come  to  the  gallows, 
without  even  the  grace  of  arriving  at  the  yard  arm ;  fifthly,  that  he 
had  borne  as  many  of  my  dog's  tricks  as  mortal  man  could  ;  sixthly, 
that  the  loss  of  the  gander  was  the  most  atrocious  piece  of  cold- 
blooded knavery  he  had  ever  heard  of,  for  which  hanging  was  too 
good  for  me  ;  and  seventhly  and  lastly,  that  as  it  was  his  duty  to 
take  a  father's  care  of  me,  he  would  forthwith  proceed  to  give  me 
the  handsomest  trouncing  I  had  ever  had  in  my  whole  life,  blast 
his  fish-hooks.  And  this  oration,  which  was  interlarded  with  more 
profane  execrations  than  I  desire  to  repeat,  being  ended,  he  kicked 
and  dragged  me  along  into  the  cabin  ;  where,  seizing  up  a  rope's 
end,  he  fell  to  work  upon  my  half-naked  body  with  a  vigor  that, 
I  think,  would  have  ended  in  his  killing  me  outright,  had  not 


ROBIN     DAY.  21 

fate  sent  me  assistance  in  the  person  of  a  friend — it  was  the  first 
one  I  ever  had — whom  the  accident  of  the  morning  had  gained 
me,  all  unknown  to  myself. 

The  little  boy  whom  I  had  saved  from  drowning,  was,  as  it  hap- 
pened, the  son  of  a  worthy  and  wealthy  gentleman  a  physician 
of  that  town,  who  chanced  to  be  nigh  at  hand,  when  I  landed  the 
little  fellow  on  the  wharf  ;  and  being  drawn  thither,  among  others, 
by  the  cries  of  the  children,  had  the  happiness  to  find  his  child 
already  restored  to  his  senses,  and  suffering  no  inconvenience  from 
the  catastrophe,  except  a  good  ducking  and  a  hearty  fright.  He 
took  pains  to  inform  himself  on  the  spot  of  the  particulars  of  the 
accident,  which  a  little  inquiry  among  the  boys  soon  put  him  in 
possession  of,  including  all  the  circumstances  of  the  attack,  as 
well  as  of  my  instrumentality  in  saving  the  graceless  urchin  ;  and 
he  was  pleased  to  express  as  much  approbation  as  surprise  at  what 
he  called  my  magnanimity — a  word,  by  the  by,  which,  when  he 
afterwards  delivered  it  into  my  own  ears,  filled  me  with  consterna- 
tion, as,  from  its  bigness,  I  supposed  it  must  mean  something  very 
horrible.  Nay,  his  feelings  becoming  more  interested,  when  he  dis- 
covered from  what  a  wretched  looking  little  imp  (for,  it  seems,  I  had 
passed  him,  while  running  up  the  wharves,  and  he  had  noticed  my 
squalid  appearance)  the  good  act  had  proceeded,  he  determined 
to  visit  the  shallop  on  the  instant,  to  do  me  reparation,  for  the  in- 
juries I  had  received,  as  well  as  to  reward  me  for  my  humanity — 
which  word  also,  when  he  pronounced  it,  struck  me  as  a  very  ter- 
rible one,  though  not  so  awful  as  "  magnanimity."  He  accord- 
ingly procured  a  boat,  and  in  company  with  several  other  persons 
immediately  came  on  board,  the  visit  being  for  me  the  most  oppor- 
tune in  the  world,  as  the  honest  skipper  was  thrashing  me,  as  he 
expressed  it,  "  within  an  inch  of  my  life,"  and  was,  indeed  so 
enwrapped  in  the  business  that  he  was  entirely  unconscious  of 
the  entrance  of  the  visitors  into  the  vessel  and  the  cabin,  until  my 
new  friend,  shocked  and  enraged  at  his  brutality,  brought  it  to  an 
end  by  suddenly  knocking  him  down  with  his  cane. 

My  miserable,  wretched  appearance — for,  besides  my  starveling 
looks,  the  blood  was  still  streaming  over  my  face — and  the  inhu- 
man tyranny  to  which  he  thus  saw  me  exposed,  operated  to  such 
a  degree  on  the  benevolent  feelings  of  this  most  excellent  man, 
that  he  determined  to  release  me  from  my  skipper's  clutches  alto- 
gether, 'which  he  immediately  effected,  by  carrying  me  ashore  to 


22  ADVENTUKES    OF 

his  own  house,  where  he  dressed  my  wounds  and  had  me  washed 
and  clothed  in  decent  attire. 

^  Nor  did  his  good  offices  rest  here,  for  having  questioned  me, 
and  discovered  what  a  friendless  creature  I  really  was,  and  how 
much  I  had  suffered  from  the  cruelty  of  the  skipper,  his  indigna- 
tion was  roused  to  such  a  pitch  that  he  proceeded  to  lodge  an  in- 
formation before  a  magistrate,  who  immediately  granted  a  war- 
rant for  Duck's  apprehension,  and  he  was  in  a  few  hours  laid  by 
the  heels  in  the  common  jail  ;  when,  being  tried,  he  was  mulcted 
in  a  heavy  fine  and  punished  also  with  a  month's  imprisonment. 
And  this  punishment  not  seeming  severe  enough  to  certain  worthy 
citizens,  whose  choler  had  been  exceedingly  inflamed  by  the  (De- 
velopments of  his  cruelty  that  took  place  at  the  trial,  the  skipper 
was  no  sooner  released  from  prison  than  they  carried  him  aboard 
his  own  vessel,  where,  after  subjecting  him  to  the  process  of  keel- 
hauling, administered  in  a  much  more  regular  way  than  had  hap- 
pened in  my  case,  they  shaved  his  head  and  tarred  and  feathered 
him  from  top  to  toe,  and  then  ordered  him  to  get  under  way, 
never  to  appear  again  in  their  waters,  under  pain  of  being  hung 
from  his  own  cross-trees,  an  injunction  which,  I  believe,  the  scoun- 
drel very  faithfully  observed,  for  I  never  heard  of  his  being  again 
seen  in  that  neighborhood. 

As  for  me,  the  events  of  that  day  had,  although  I  knew  it  not, 
operated  an  entire  and  thorough  change  on  all  my  future  pros- 
pects. I  had  gained  a  friend  and  protector,  who  was  as  able  as  he 
was  willing  to  repair  the  mischiefs  I  had  suffered  in  body  and 
mind,  and  to  guard  me  for  the  future  from  wrong  and  outrage. 
And  all  this  was,  as  I  may  say,  the  result  of  my  own  action — of 
the  indulgence  of  a  natural  feeling  or  instinct,  of  the  laudable- 
ness  of  which  I  was  entirely  ignorant.  I  had  done  a  good  act, 
and — like  the  young  Pawnee  Indian,*  who  saved  the  life  of  a  fe- 
male captive,  without  knowing  he  had  done  a  good  deed,  until  his 
Christian  rewarders  told  him  so — I  did  not  know  it.  And  for  this 
reason,  I  certainly  deserved  neither  credit  nor  recompense1;  but  I 
would  that  all  good  actions  were  us  well  rewarded. 


*  Petclex/iaroo,  son  of  Latelesha,  or  the  Knife-Chief,  head  of  the  Pawnee-Loupg,  who  cut 
from  the  stake,  where  his  nation  had  devoted  her  to  the  flames,  a  Paduca,  or  letan  girl,  and 
carried  her  in  safety  to  her  own  tribe,  for  which  heroic  act  he  was  presented  with  a  medal 
by  the  young  ladies  of  a  seminary  at  Washington.  The  young  savage,  in  returning  his 
thanks,  declared,  with  great  simplicity  or  good  manners— for  the  assertion  looks  very  much 
like  a  stretch  of  politeness— that  he  "  did  it  in  ignorance,"  and  "  did  not  know  that  he  had 
done  good,  until  his  sinters,  by  giving  him  a  medal,  told  him  so."  See  Morse's  Indian  Re- 
ports, aud,  also,  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


ROBIN    DAY.  23 


CHAPTER  III. 

Robin  Day  begins  his  education,  and  advances  in  the  opinion  of 

the  world. 

MY  patron,  Dr.  Howard  (for  that  was  his  name),  was  not  con- 
tent with  merely  releasing  me  from  bondage  and  punishing  my 
tyrant,  but  carried  his  goodness  still  further.  The  few  hints  I 
was  able  to  give  him  in  relation  to  the  shipwreck  led  him  to 
indulge  a  kind  of  hope  that  my  parents  were  perhaps  living,  and 
that  I  might  be  restored  to  their  arms  ;  in  consequence  of  which 
he  not  only  instituted  inquiries  into  the  circumstance,  but  even 
paid  two  different  visits  to  the  coast,  where  he  made  every  effort 
to  sift  the  affair  to  the  bottom.  His  exertions  were,  however, 
of  little  avail  ;  the  reasons  for  sileiflce  which  I  had  mentioned 
were  still  in  operation,  and  kept  every 'man's  memory  under  lock 
and  key.  No  one  of  those  interested  as  actors  in  the  scene  had 
the  slightest  knowledge  or  recollection  of  the  affair  ;  there  were  a 
great  many  wrecks,  they  said,  on  their  coast,  and  they  could  not 
pretend  to  remember  them,  or  to  say  who  came  ashore  on  them  ; 
they  knew  in  general,  no  such  personage  as  little  Robin  Rusty, 
though  some  professed  to  have  heard  the  name,  and  some  believed 
there  had  been  a  boy  so  called,  whom  old  Mother  Moll  had  picked 
up  somewhere  ;  they  had  never  troubled  themselves  to  ask  where. 
In  short,  they  were  determined  to  hold  their  tongues,  and  all  the 
information  that  my  patron  ever  succeeded  in  acquiring  was  ob- 
tained from  persons  living  at  a  distance  from  the  scene ;  and, 
indeed,  the  further  they  were  off,  the  more  they  seemed  to  know 
of  the  matter.  The  only  difficulty  was,  that  no  two  agreed  in 
telling  the  same  story,  from  which,  as  well  as  from  the  thousand 
manifest  falsehoods  and  contradictions  with  which  the  relation 
was  overburdened,  it  was  clear  these  worthy  personages  had 
gained  their  intelligence  from  their  own  imaginations,  and  in 
reality  knew  nothing  more  than  the  inquirer  himself. 

He  might,  perhaps,  have  gained  all  the  information  he  sought, 


24  ADVENTUKES    OF 

from  the  old  beldam,  Mother  Moll,  who  was  now  grown  decrepid 
and  helpless  with  age,  had  been  long  abandoned  by  her  vagabond 
son,  and  was  dragging  out  existence  in  the  most  hopeless  poverty  ; 
but  she  had  reached  the  period  of  dotage  and  mere  oblivion,  and 
was  incapable  of  rendering  him  any  assistance.  It  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  she  could  be  made  even  to  remember  my  name  ; 
and  when  she  did,  and  was  questioned  particularly  concerning  me, 
she,  by  some  unaccountable  perversion  of  association  always 
confounded  me  with  her  son  Ikey,  whose  history,  including  all 
his  monkey  tricks,  and  sometimes  mine  with  them,  his  sundry 
rebellions  against  the  maternal  authority,  and  final  desertion  of 
her,  she  was  very  willing  to  tell,  so  long  as  her  memory  served  ; 
but  that  was  never  long.  She  seemed  to  have  some  glimmering 
recollections  of  the  wreck,  but  they  were  not  such  as  could  be 
turned  to  profit  ;  and  as  to  the  date,  which  she  sometimes  threw 
twenty  years  back,  and  sometimes  but  a  few  months,  nothing  of 
the  least  account  could  be  gained  from  her. 

All  that  my  patron,  therefore,  learned,  after  every  inquiry,  was 
no  more  than  what  he  knew  before  ;  namely,  that  there  had  been 
a  wreck,  and  that  I  had  come  ashore  in  it ;  but  of  the  exact  period 
of  the  catastrophe,  of  the  name  and  character  of  the  vessel,  of  the 
fate  of  the  crew,  and  other — the  most  interesting  and  important 
particulars — he  knew  nothing.  The  discouragement  which  he  suf- 
fered did  not,  however,  prevent  his  making  the  only  other  effort 
that  remained.  He  drew  up  a  brief  account — if  account  it  could 
be  called — of  the  occurrence,  and  caused  it  to  be  inserted  in  several 
of  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  in  hopes  it  might  attract  the  eye  of 
some  one  interested,  and  thence  lead  to  further  developments  that 
might  finally  bring  my  parentage  to  light.  But  the  effort  resulted 
in  nothing.  Some  few  persons,  merchants  who  had  lost  vessels, 
and  others  who  had  been  deprived  of  friends,  wrote  to  him  for 
further  particulars,  which  he  had  not  to  give  ;  and  there  the  mat- 
ter dropped.  Whatever  might  be  my  good  qualities,  nobody 
thought  me  worth  claiming. 

In  the  meanwhile,  neither  my  protector's  inquiries  nor  their  fail- 
ure of  success  troubled  me  in  the  least.  I  had  arrived  at  a  fate 
which  satisfied  all  my  youthful  longings,  inasmuch  as  I  had 
plenty  to  eat  and  drink,  could  take  my  fill  of  sleep  whenever  I 
wanted  it,  and  had  no  fear  of  an  hourly  drubbing.  In  the  enjoy- 
ment of  these  blisses,  and  in  the  kitchen  corner,  whither  my 


ROBIN    DAY.  25. 

instincts  and  ambition  both  carried  me,  I  should  have  been  content 
to  pass  my  existence,  contending  for  nothing  but  the  warmest  rug 
and  the  hugest  cast-bit,  with  no  rivals  but  Towzer  the  house  dog 
and  Tabby  the  torn  cat.  A  nobler  strife  and  competitors  more 
distinguished  were  subjects  that  entered  neither  into  my  desires 
nor  thoughts.  I  was  entirely  of  opinion  that  the  life  of  a  scullion 
in  a  rich  man's  kitchen  was  the  happiest  that  human  being  could 
lead — a  life  for  a  skipper,  or  the  gods  themselves. 

This  groveling  disposition  there  were  some  who  considered  an 
inborn  one,  a  characteristic  of  a  naturally  low  and  vulgar  spirit, 
though  I  am  very  well  convinced  it  was  all  owing  to  Skipper 
Duck  and  his  villainous  treatment ;  and  certain  it  is,  had  any 
nobler  feelings  ever  existed  in  my  bosom,  they  could  not  have  sur- 
vived the  long  course  of  debasing  cruelty  to  which  I  had  been 
subjected.  The  truth  is,  it  had  resulted  in  quenching  every  spark 
of  intellect  and  spirit  I  ever  possessed,  in  stultifying,  in  stupefy- 
ing, in  reducing  me  to  a  condition  very  little  above  that  of  a  mere 
animal ;  so  that,  I  verily  believe,  my  old  prototype  of  Cyprus,  he 
that  was 

Cymon  call'd,  which  signifies  a  brute, 
So  well  his  name  did  with  his  nature  suit', 

was  the  Seven  Wise  Masters  of  Greece  all  in  one  body,  compared 
with  me,  whom  everybody  agreed  in  considering  not  merely  a 
dolt  and  blockhead  of  unusual  barrenness,  but  a  kind  of  Orson,  or 
Wild-boy  Peter,  on  whose  nature,  as  on  Caliban's,  "  nurture  could 
never  stick,"  and  every  effort  at  instruction  must  be  entirely 
thrown  away. 

And  in  this  opinion,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  my  benevolent  patron 
also  joined,  after  he  had  worn  out  his  patience  in  the  vain  effort 
to  awake  my  dormant  faculties,  which  he  declared  were  of  so  low 
an  order  as  to  be  incapable  of  any  cultivation,  and  so,  in  despair, 
left  me  to  myself,  to  my  own  enjoyments,  and  in  the  honorable 
office — the  only  one  he  deemed  me  fit  for — of  scullion  and  turn- 
spit, my  cooking  abilities,  though  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of 
Skipper  Duck,  not  being,  in  his  opinion,  brilliant  enough  for  the 
appointment  of  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  culinary  department 
in  his  household — which  was,  indeed,  very  capably  filled  by  an 
old  negro,  whom  we  called  Don  Pedro,  a  slave  from  one  of  the 
Spanish  West  India  Islands. 


26  ADVENTUBES    OP 

Thus  consigned  to  contempt,  and  given  over  as  a  case  of  hopeless 
stupidity,  I  must  have  remained  among  pots  and  pattypans,  an 
ornament  of  the  kitchen  for  life,  had  it  not  been  for  the  good 
offices  of  two  other  friends  who  were  not  so  willing  to  desert  me. 
The  first  of  these  was  Nature,  who,  having  been  outraged  in  my 
person  for  years,  and,  in  fact,  driven  out  of  it,  now  returned,  and 
having  nothing  to  oppose  her,  save  the  craziness  of  the  mansion, 
began  a  course  of  renoVation,  which,  though  slow  and  at  first  im- 
perceptible, was  destined  sooner  or  later  to  make  itself  manifest. 
The  second  was  my  patron's  son  Tommy — his  only  son,  and 
therefore  a  spoiled  one — to  whose  exploit  with  the  oyster-shell  I 
owed  my  advancement.  The  little  gentleman,  who  was  my  junior 
by  at  least  three  years,  though  my  equal  in  size,  and  infinitely 
superior  in  everything  that  marks  the  intelligent  being — such 
were  the  advantages  of  a  parent's  love  and  care — was  by  no  means 
the  malicious  and  wicked  imp  his  unprovoked  attack  on  me 
seemed  to  declare,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  very  amiable  and  gen- 
erous boy,  although  wild  and  prankish,  and  easily  led  into 
mischief,  as  most  boys  are.  Perhaps  I  should  say,  as  most  boys 
were,  for  the  juveniles  of  the  present  generation,  as  I  have  observed, 
are  a  much  more  manly  and  rational  race  than  their  predecessors 
of  the  last,  the  difference  resulting,  I  suppose,  from  a  better 
system  of  education.  The  boys  of  my  day,  I  declare,  were  the 
greatest  scoundrels  conceivable ;  quarrelsome,  vindictive  and  cruel 
oppressors  of  one  another  and  of  every  living  thing  that  was  too 
weak  to  resist  them  ;  in  short,  Neroes  and  Domitians  in 
miniature.  And  those  who  were  not  born  with  these  happy 
characteristics  hastened  to  get  inoculated  with  them,  as  nothing 
was  held  more  contemptible,  because  evincing  a  babyish, 
cowardly  spirit,  than  a  peaceable  temper,  and  tenderness 
to  cats  and  dogs.  My  little  friend  Tommy  was  of  a  mixed 
class,  having  been  born  with  spirit  enough  to  adventure  into 
every  excess,  and  yet  with  milder  and  kindlier  feelings  that,  if 
carefully  governed,  might  have  made  him  the  best  of  boys  ;  and 
he  was  of  just  such  a  character  as  to  be  able,  at  any  moment,  to 
enter  with  enthusiasm  upon  the  torture  of  a  tabby  cat,  and  burst 
into  tears,  the  next,  at  the  sight  of  her  dying  agonies. 

The  little  fellow's  best  feelings  had  been  enlisted  by  the  service 
I  rendered  him  by  plucking  him  from  the  water;  and  his  father 
had  made  him  aware — if,  indeed,  his  own  conscience  had  not — of 


ROBIN    DAY.  27 

the  meanness  and  cruelty  he  had  been  guilty  of  in  attacking  such 
&  poor,  inoffensive  vagabond  as  I;  and  the  end  was,  that  Master 
Tommy  was  anxious  to  repair  the  mischief  he  had  done,  and  do 
me  some  important  service  in  return.  He  straightway  contracted 
a  fiery  friendship  for  me,  which  he  showed  in  a  thousand  different 
ways;  and  especially  by  cramming  me  with  oranges  and  sugar- 
plums, and  other  infantile  luxuries,  such  as  had  never  before 
blessed  my  lips  ;  and,  what  was  better  still,  by  appointing  me  his 
chief  playmate. 

It  was  Anaxagoras,  I  think,  the  philosopher  of  Lampsacus,  who, 
being  asked  at  his  death-hour,  by  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  what 
he  wished  to  be  done  in  commemoration  of  him,  desired  they 
would  give  the  boys  a  holiday  on  the  anniversary  of  his  death,  and 
let  them  play  oven  his  grave.  This  sentiment  is  generally  con- 
sidered as  proving  that  Anaxagoras  must  have  been  an  uncommonly 
amiable  old  gentleman,  who  had  spared  the  birch  in  his  school,  and 
was  determined  the  boys  of  Lampsacus  should  be  as  happy  after 
his  death  as  before.  To  my  mind,  it  proves  a  good  deal  more,  and 
shows  that  the  philosopher  was  a  philosopher  in  earnest,  who 
knew  the  influence  of  childish  play — because  an  institution  of 
Nature  herself — in  expanding  the  powers  of  the  childish  mind; 
and  therefore  aimed,  in  his  festival,  as  much  at  the  improvement 
as  the  happiness  of  his  youthful  heirs.  Of  the  justice  and  truth 
of  this  remark  I  am  the  more  strongly  persuaded,  as  I  believe  I  can 
trace  the  first  efforts  of  expansion  in  my  own  spirit  to  the  influence 
of  boyish  sports ;  and  I  am  convinced  that  I  learned  more  by  play- 
ing leap-frog  and  cock-horse  with  Master  Tommy  Howard  than 
by  thumbing  all  the  hornbooks  and  primers  his  father  ever  put  in- 
to my  hands. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  the  sports  of  childhood — those  first 
and  truest  sources  of  enjoyment,  of  health  and  of  happiness — 
were  vanities  I  had  never  known,  nor  even  dreamed  of,  all  my 
tender  years  having  been  passed  in  captivity  and  servitude,  and 
every  hour  and  moment  devoted  to  some  infernal  drudgery  as 
killing  to  the  mind  as  the  body.  The  smile  and  laugh  of  happy 
vacancy,  the  shout  of  merriment,  the  whistle,  the  song,  the  uproar 
of  play,  were  music  that  had  never  visited  my  ears,  which  were, 
indeed  seldom  invaded  by  anything,  except  abusive  language 
and  the  hard  palms  of  my  honest  skipper.  I  was  now,  for  the 
first  time,  to  be  made  acquainted  with  such  joys,  and  the  delight 


28  ADVENTURES    OF 

I  experienced  from  them  was  only  equaled  by  their  happy  effects 
on  my  benighted  spirit.  The  change  was  speedily  manifested  in 
my  visage  and  person,  the  former  of  which  gradually  lost  the  look 
of  stupefaction  that  had  hitherto  marked  it,  while  the  latter  took 
a  sudden  start,  and  grew  out  of  the  similitude  of  a  starved  ape, 
which  it  had  first  borne,  though,  I  must  confess,  as  far  as  stature 
is  concerned,  I  have  not  even  yet  entirely  got  over  the  effects  of 
my  early  sufferings.  A  still  better  evidence  of  the  transforma- 
tion that  had  been  effected  was  soon  shown,  for  little  Tommy, 
now  taking  upon  himself  the  office  of  a  schoolmaster,  ambitious  to 
succeed  in  an  exploit  which  his  father  had  pronounced  impractica- 
ble, I  was  actually,  through  his  instrumentality,  taught  to  read, 
and  that  before  the  good  doctor  dreamed  that  the  attempt  had 
been  made  to  teach  me  ;  and,  indeed,  the  first  intimation  he  had 
of  the  miracle  was  when  Tommy  carried  me  in  triumph  before 
him  to  display  the  fruits  of  his  skill  and  enterprise. 

The  work  of  regeneration  thus  commenced  by  the  son,  the  pa- 
rent was  determined  it  should  not  languish  for  want  of  encourage- 
ment on  his  part,  and  the  result  was  that,  in  a  short  time,  I  was 
translated  from  the  kitchen  to  his  study,  and  from  thence  to  a 
public  school,  where  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  make  such  pro- 
gress as  entirely  satisfied  my  patron,  who  from  that  moment 
treated  me  rather  as  a  child  than  a  poor  dependent  on  his  charity. 
And  there  unhappily  occurred,  soon  after,  an  event  which,  while 
it  brought  mourning  into  his  family,  advanced  me  to  a  still  higher 
niche  in  his  affections.  This  was  nothing  less  than  the  death  of 
poor  Tommy,  who,  to  the  eternal  grief  of  his  parents,  and  myself 
— for  I  loved  him  with  all  my  heart — having  now  learned  to  swim 
a  little,  was  drowned  while  bathing  with  other  boys  in  the  river. 
How  the  catastrophe  happened  was  not  known,  as  none  of  his 
companions  were  by  him  at  the  moment,  and,  indeed,  he 
was  not  missed  by  them  until  they  had  finished  their  sports  and 
gone  on  shore  to  dress,  when  the  sight  of  his  clothes  reminded 
them  of  his  disappearance;  nor  was  his  body  ever  recovered.  He 
was,  as  I  have  mentioned,  an  only  son — I  might  almost  have  said, 
an  only  child,  for,  though  Dr.  Howard  had  another,  a  daughter, 
who  was  a  year  older  than  Tommy,  yet  she  was,  and,  from 
her  youth  up,  had  been,  of  so  frail  a  constitution  that  nothing  but 
her  father's  skill  and  extreme  care  seemed  to  keep  her  alive,  and 
few  believed  her  term  of  existence  could  extend  to  many  years^ 


ROBIN    DAY.  29 

The  death  of  Tommy  was,  therefore,  almost  as  heavy  a  blow  as  if 
he  had  been,  in  reality,  an  only  child;  and  it  plunged  his  father 
into  a  kind  of  despair  that  lasted  several  months,  after  which  he 
gradually  recovered  his  spirits,  and  began  to  treat  me  with  un- 
common marks  of  regard,  transferring  to  me  in  a  great  degree  the 
affection  which  had  once  been  lavished  on  his  son.  In  this  he  was 
imitated  by  his  wife,  an  excellent  woman,  who  had  always  distin- 
guished me  by  her  favor,  and  now  carried  her  benevolence  to  such  a 
pitch  that,  as  I  have  been  told,  'she  once  even  proposed  they  should 
adopt  me  as  their  child,  and  give  me  their  name;  and,  although 
the  good  doctor  did  not  altogether  consent  to  carry  the  matter  so 
far,  I  was  treated  by  them  both  as  if  the  act  of  affiliation  had 
really  occurred,  and  also  by  the  world  at  large — that  is  to  say,  the 
people  of  our  town,  who  all  considered  that  my  fortune  was  now 
certainly  made.  My  name  was  so  far  changed  as  to  make  it  read 
Robin  Day,  instead  of  Robin  Rusty;  the  Day,  I  presume,  having 
been  borrowed  from  my  skipper. 


ADVENTURES  OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Three  years  at  school  under  the  ancient  system  of  education  y  with 
an  account  of  Robin's  rival,  the  heroic  Dicky  Dare,  and  the 
war  of  the  Feds  and  Demies. 

In  the  meanwhile,  I  accommodated  myself  to  the  change  with 
surprising  readiness;  and,  as  I  grew  older,  I  assumed  the  deport- 
ment and  gradually  took  upon  me  all  the  airs  of  a  rich  man's  son, 
bearing  my  honors  and  the  favors  of  my  protectors  with  as  much 
grace  as  if  I  had  been  born  to  them;  and  this  presumption,  as  it 
was  indicative  of  a  gentlemanly  spirit,  and  had  the  good  fortune 
to  be  backed  by  a  gentlemanly  little  body — for  I  was  grown,  as 
everybody  said,  quite  a  pretty  little  fellow — served  the  purpose  of 
endearing  me  still  further  to  my  pseudo  parents,  who  suffered  me 
to  fume  and  pout,  to  swell  and  strut,  to  play  the  impertinent  and 
tyrant,  and  indulge  all  the  other  humors  of  a  spoiled  child,  yield- 
ing to  them  with  as  much  dutiful  submissiveness  as  if  they  had  been 
my  parents  in  reality.  And,  certainly,  so  long  as  my  good  patron- 
ess lived — which,  unhappily,  was  not  long,  for  she  died  suddenly 
of  an  affection  of  the  heart,  in  but  little  more  than  a  year  after  her 
son — even  Tommy  himself  had  not  been  more  effectually  humored 
to  the  top  of  his  bent. 

But,  however  bravely  I  bore  it  in  my  patron's  house,  there  was 
one  place  where  my  pretensions  were  not  so  readily  submitted  to; 
that  is,  at  school,  in  which  the  only  way  to  obtain  supremacy,  I 
found,  was  to  fight  for  it  and  drub  down  all  opposition. 

As  I  have  represented  the  associates  of  my  boyhood  in  no  very 
amiable  colors,  as  being  neither  Cupids  nor  cherubs,  such  as  the 
poets  delight  to  picture  them,  it  may  be  supposed  niy  delineations 
were  meant  to  apply  to  my  schoolmates  especially,  which  is  very 
true,  only  that  the  picture  was  then  only  half  drawn,  being  a 
sketch  designed  only  to  embrace  those  general  characteristics 
which  I  supposed  would  apply  to  the  whole  race  of  schoolboys  all 
over  the  continent.  My  own  particular  associates  at  school  were 


ROBIN    DAY.  31 

individuals  of  a  genus  as  much  worse  than  the  boys  in  general  of 
of  that  day  as  the  latter  class  was  worse  than  the  boys  of  this  ;  in 
fact,  a  set  of  such  imps  and  scapegallows  as  would  now  be  con- 
sidered fit  only  for  a  house  of  refuge,  in  which  opinion  I  think  the 
reader  will  agree  when  he  has  followed  me  through  a  few  more 
chapters,  although  I  shall  speak  of  no  more  of  their  rogueries 
than  are  necessary  as  parts  and  illustrations  of  my  own  history. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  they  were  all  sons  of  Ishmael,  at  war  with 
themselves  and  everybody  else  ;  and  firmly  persuaded  that,  as 
courage  was  by  far  the  highest  and  noblest  of  all  human  attributes, 
so  strife  and  battle  were  the  most  delightful  of  human  enjoyments. 
No  new  comer  was  allowed  the  freedom  of  the  school  until  he 
had  undergone  a  sound  drubbing,  which  was  commonly  inflicted 
the  first  day  of  his  appearance  ;  and  I  remember  well  how  greatly 
I  was  astonished,  on  my  first  day,  when,  at  the  breaking  up  of  school, 
a  manikin  of  about  my  own  size,  whom  I  had  never  seen  before, 
suddenly  marched  up  to  me  and  scratched  my  buttons  (which,  it 
appears,  was  a  signal  of  defiance  to  mortal  combat),  and,  upon  my 
replying  only  by  an  innocent  stare,  fetched  me  a  cuff  that  sent  me 
sprawling  ;  a  feat  that  was  instantly  rewarded  by  shouts  and  cries, 
from  some,  of,  "  Hurrah,  Jim  !  give  it  to  him  handsome  !"  while 
others  roared  out,  "  Fair  play  !  Let  him  up  ! — Hurrah  for  the 
monkey-faced  little  fellow  !"  meaning  me,  for  there  were  some 
who  heroically  took  my  side  of  the  question,  and  encouraged  me 
to  get  up  and  fight  like  a  good  fellow.  This  was  a  piece  of  ad- 
vice I  was  compelled  to  take  whether  I  liked  it  or  not,  or  other- 
wise be  trounced  without  making  resistence,  and,  accordingly,  I 
fell  to  work  with  great  spirit,  and  had  the  satisfaction,  after  half 
an  hour's  combat,  yard  and  yard  arm,  as  the  sailors  say,  of  coming 
off  second  best — that  is,  of  being  flogged  until  I  could  stand  up  to 
be  beaten  no  longer. 

But,  although  thus  vanquished,  I  gained  a  great  deal  of  credit 
by  the  constancy  with  which  I  endured  the  pommeling,  and,  the 
more  particularly,  as  I  refused  at  the  last  moment  to  "holler 
enough,"  as  my  adversary,  with  great  magnanimity,  bawled  at 
every  blow  ;  and  when  the  affair  was  over,  I  was  complimented  on 
all  sides  as  being  "  a  knotty  little  feller,  that  had  the  game  in  him, 
and  would  be  good  fight  some  day  or  other,"  and  encouragingly 
assured  that  I  had  only  been  whipped  "  because  I  did  not  know 
how  to  fight,"  which  was  very  true,  as,  from  never  having  been 


32  ADVENTURES     OF 

in  boys'  company,  I  had  never  been  in  combat  before  in  my  whole 
life. 

As  for  the  credit  I  gained  by  enduring  the  beating  so  well,  and 
not  obeying  the  charge  to  cry  enough,  I  am  not  so  certain  I 
deserved  it,  for,  as  to  the  latter  point,  the  words  were  to  me 
heathen  Greek  all,  and  I  did  not  understand  what  was  required  of 
me  ;  and  as  to  the  former,  I  had  been  so  hardened  to  drubbing  in 
the  hands  of  my  skipper  (which  was  the  only  benefit  I  ever  de- 
rived from  the  villain),  that  I  cared  no  more  for  it,  unless  when 
it  came  in  excess,  than  from  the  puffing  of  the  winds. 

The  callousness  or  indifference  to  the  pain  of  cuffing,  gave  me, 
with  the  honorable  nickname  of  Sy  Tough,  which  the  boys  pre- 
sently bestowed  upon  me,  an  infinite  advantage  over  all  my  school- 
mates, as  I  soon  discovered;  and,  as  my  only  deficiency  was  alack 
of  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  art  pugilistic,  which,  praised  be  my 
comrades,  they  gave  me  every  opportunity  to  acquire,  by  engag- 
ing me  in  one  battle  at  least,  every  day,  I  had  the  satisfaction, 
before  my  first  quarter  was  out,  of  drubbing  master  Jim,  my  first 
antagonist,  to  his  heart's  content,  and,  in  a  few  months  more,  of 
extending  the  same  favor  to  three-fourths  of  all  the  boys  in  school, 
so  that  I  came  to  be  looked  upon,  in  time,  as  a  young  Julius  Caesar, 
a  hero,  a  paragon  of  schoolboys. 

How,  as  my  disposition  was  naturally  pacific,  and  as  averse 
from  squabbling  and  contention  as  could  be  desired,  I  ever  came 
to  be  engaged  in  so  many  battles  as  it  was  my  fate  to  fight — and, 
I  think,  for  three  years,  they  must  have  averaged  at  the  rate  of  at 
least  one-and-a-half  each  day — I  am  scarce  able  to  say ;  but  I  be- 
lieve the  chief  cause  was  that  my  schoolmates  so  willed  it,  there 
being  a  standing  conspiracy  among  them  to  get  up  a  battle  when- 
ever it  was  possible,  each  and  every  one  of  them,  though  not  al- 
ways fond  of  fighting  in  his  own  person,  being  delighted  when  others 
could  be  driven  into  it.  This  passion  was  especially  observable 
among  the  bigger  boys,  who  were  never  so  well  content  as  in  set- 
ting their  juniors  by  the  ears;  and,  indeed,  I  have  known  them  so 
bent  upon  their  purpose  that,  when  they  found  it  impossible,  by  fair 
means,  to  engage  a  pair  of  reluctant  belligerents  in  affray,  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  flog  them  into  it. 

With  this  class  of  worthies,  the  leaders  of  the  school,  it  was  my 
fate  to  become  a  favorite;  and  they  proved  their  affection  by  en- 
gaging me  in  a  never-ending  round  of  conflicts;  which,  from  my 


KOBIN     DAY.  33 

simplicity,  ignorance,  disregard  of  fisticuffs,  and,  above  all,  a  na- 
tural facility  of  being  led  by  the  nose,  was  no  very  difficult  task. 

In  this  way  it  happened  that,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years,, 
I  had  been  involved  in  battle  with  every  soul  in  the  school  (which 
varied  in  number  from  fifty  to  seventy  boys)  that  could  be  con- 
sidered, in  any  degree,  a  suitable  antagonist;  and,  as  the  tough- 
ness and  insensibility  to  pain  I  have  mentioned  gave  me  an  advan- 
tage that  no  one  else  possessed,  I  usually  came  off  victor,  untilr 
at  last,  there  was  but  one  other  boy  of  my  own  degree  who  was- 
able  to  dispute  the  palm  with  me. 

This  was  master  Richard,  or  Dicky  Dare,  the  son  of  an  old  cap- 
tain of  the  Revolution,  who  had  infused  into  his  son's  heart  the 
spirit,  not  merely  of  a  soldier,  but  of  a  whole  regiment,  and.  filled 
his  head  with  drums,  trumpets,  ambition,  glory  and  other  martial 
trumpery,  to  such  degree  that  there  was  no  room  in  it  for  any- 
thing else.  He  was  about  my  own  age — i.  e.y  about  the  age  I  was- 
supposed  to  be — though  somewhat  taller  and  stronger,  so  that  I 
should  never  have  been  able  to  contend  with  him  for  superiority., 
had  it  not  been  for  the  above  mentioned  toughness;  and  he  had,, 
like  myself,  under  the  direction  of  the  seniors,  drubbed  all  the  rest 
of  the  school.  Nothing  remained  then  for  our  leaders  but  to  pit 
us  against  each  other,  and,  as  neither  was  found  the  better  man, 
to  incite  us  to  the  tug  of  war  as  often  as  possible.  In  this  latter 
particular  they  succeeded  so  well  that,  after  awhile,  one  battle  a 
day  between  us  became  a  matter  of  course,  and  was  as  regularly 
expected  by  the  whole  school  and  ourselves  at  the  breaking  up  in 
the  morning  as  the  dinners  that  were  to  follow  it.  And  this  kind 
of  diversion  we  practiced  daily,  to  the  infinite  delight  of  our  com- 
rades, for  more  than  a  year,  until,  in  fact,  we,  in  our  turn,  had  be- 
come big  boys,  and  leaders  and  masters  of  the  whole  .herd,  which, 
like  conquerors,  we  divided  between  us. 

Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  during  this  long  period  of  strife,, 
there  was  any  peculiar  animosity  or  ill  feeling  betwixt  my  rival 
and  me  ;  on  the  contrary,  we  drubbed  one  another  into  mutual 
friendship  in  less  than  a  month  after  the  rivalry  began,  after 
which  we  continued  to  fight  because  it  seemed  to  be  expected  of 
us,  and  because,  from  having  fallen  into  the  habit,  we  had  come  to 
consider  it  as  very  good  pastime.  Nor,  when  we  ceased,  as  after  a 
time  we  did,  to  pommel  one  another,  did  we  leave  it  off  from  dis- 
gust of  combat,  but  only  that  we  might  organize  a  plan  devised 


34  ADVENTURES  OF 

by  the  martial  Dicky,  and  recommence  hostilities  on  a  grander 
scale. 

My  rival,  although  pronounced  by  the  master  the  greatest  block- 
head in  school  (and  truly,  he  never  knew  a  lesson  that  I,  out  of 
my  friendship  had  not  drilled  into  him),  was,  nevertheless,  the 
soul  of  honor  and  generosity,  and  a  prodigious  genius  into  the 
bargain,  nature  having  intended  him  to  rule  the  million,  and 
trample  nations  under  his  feet,  though  an  unfortunate  accident 
caused  him  to  leave  the  world  before  his  work  was  completed. 
The  military  spirit,  which,  it  was  said,  he  had  inherited  from  his 
father,  and  which  had  hitherto  been  indicated  only  by  a  love  of 
fisticuffs,  was  beginning  to  blaze  out  its  nobler  attributes  ;  ambi- 
tion, the  love  of  rule,  and  a  desire  and  resolution  to  fight  his  further 
battles,  not  with  his  own  hands  merely,  but  with  the  fists  of  his  in- 
feriors. He  was  determined  to  organize  his  adherents,  who  made 
up  one  half  the  school,  into  an  army,  of  which  he  was  to  be  gene- 
ral ;  and  he  desired  me  to  do  the  same  with  mine  ;  with  which 
forces,  after  having  disciplined  them  to  our  minds,  we  should  fight 
our  battles  like  true  soldiers. 

The  notion  was  as  agreeable  to  our  adherents  as  to  ourselves, 
and,  in  a  very  brief  space,  behold  us,  to  wit,  General  Dicky  Dare, 
and  General  Sy  Tough  (for  by  that  sobriquet  my  schoolmates 
always  preferred  to  distinguish  me),  each  at  the  head  of  his  train- 
bands, all  in  Coventry  uniform,  tag,  rag  and  bobtail,  with  shingle 
swords  and  broomstick  muskets,  banners  of  old  paper-hangings, 
and  full  bands  of  music— for,  in  truth,  every  soul,  the  generals 
only  excepted,  was  musician  as  well  as  soldier — in  which  old 
kettles  and  frying-pans  contended  with  conches  and  tin  horns,  and 
fifes  and  pitch-pipes  with  penny  whistles,  Jews-harps,  and  comb 
organs.  In  such  array,  and  all  eager  for  the  battle,  we  were  wont 
to  meet,  of  Saturday  afternoons,  on  the  school-house  green  ;  and, 
having  saluted  each  other  with  a  preliminary  shower  or  two  of 
pebbles  and  potatoes,  march  gallantly  up  to  the  charge,  and  to  it 
pell-mell  like  brave  fellows  ;  so  that  the  plain  of  Troy  and  Donny- 
brook  fair  were  mere  nothings  in  comparison.  And  such  battles, 
fought  with  extreme  rancor,  and  at  an  expense  of  numberless 
broken  heads,  and,  once  or  twice,  a  broken  bone,  we  never  could 
give  over,  until  the  towns-people,  who  by  no  means  encouraged 
such  excesses,  fell  foul  of  us  with  switches  and  horsewhips,  and  so 
routed  both  armies  together. 


ROBIN     DAY.  35 

Such  interference  we  deemed  a  great  hardship,  as  the  sport  was 
in  great  vogue  among  us,  and  the  more  particularly  as  we  had 
dubbed  our  parties,  respectively,  Feds  and  Demies — that  is,  Fede- 
ralists and  Democrats — in  imitation  of  the  grown  children,  our 
fathers  of  the  country  at  large,  and  thought  we  had  as  much  right 
as  they,  under  the  above  titles,  to  knock  one  another  on  the  head. 
But  the  enemy,  or  the  armed  intervention,  prevailed  ;  switches  and 
horsewhips  were  weapons  we  could  not  resist,  and  both  armies, 
having  been  effectually  routed  half  a  dozen  times,  were  finally  dis- 
banded, to  the  unspeakable  grief  of  my  great  rival,  General  Dare, 
who  mourned  his  discomfiture  in  sorrow  and  humiliation,  but  was 
too  great  of  soul  to  despair.  His  spirit  was,  indeed,  not  to  be  van- 
quished by  one  rebuff,  and  his  genius  soon  supplied,  in  a  new 
undertaking,  a  nobler  field  of  fame  than  that  from  which  we  had 
been  driven. 


ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  patriot  Dare  preaches  the  doctrine  of  schoolboys'  rights,  and 
the  young  Republicans  strike  for  freedom. 

THE  seminary  of  which  I  have  spoken  under  the  disparaging 
name  of  school,  enjoyed  the  nobler  title  of  Academy,  to  which 
it  had  the  better  right,  as  its  affairs  were  administered  by  Trus- 
tees, who  never  troubled  their  heads  about  it,  and  was  intended 
to  indoctrinate  boys  in  all  kinds  of  learning,  from  spelling  in  two 
syllables  up  to  Pons  Asinorum  and  Hic-hozc-hoc.  The  only  diffi- 
culty, as  some  esteemed  it,  was  that  the  task  of  dispensing  these 
multifarious  subjects  of  education  was  made  the  duty  of  one 
single  teacher,  there  being  neither  assistant  nor  usher  in  the 
school ;  but  the  duty  was,  after  all,  no  great  matter  in  a  country 
where  it  is  every  man's  business  to  be  a  jack  of  all  trades,  and 
•capable  of  turning  his  hand  to  anything. 

The  worthy  person  to  whom  was  committed  this  weighty 
charge,  I  have  not  yet  spoken  of,  nor  do  I  now  think  it  necessary 
to  say  anything  more  of  him  than  that  his  name  was  Burley,  his 
nickname  Old  Bluff,  and  that  he  was  a  very  good  sort  of  person, 
who  was  so  occupied  in  horsing  and  trouncing  his  scholars  all  day 
long,  that  he  had  little  time  left  for  anything  else,  and  in  particu- 
lar, none  at  all  for  directing  their  studies. 

This  latter  circumstance,  as  we  had  the  true  schoolboy  detesta- 
tion of  hard  lessons,  endeared  him  very  greatly  to  our  affections; 
though  there  was  a  good  deal  of  grumbling  on  account  of  the 
trouncing;  so  that,  to  balance  matters  fairly,  as  he  lost  as  much  good 
will  by  one  peculiarity  as  he  gained  by  the  other,  he  may  be  said 
to  have  occupied  a  very  doubtful  place  in  our  regards.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  he  chose  to  side  with  the  town's  people  in  their 
opposition  to  the  warlike  pastime  just  mentioned,  which  he  pro- 
fessed to  consider  a  very  outrageous  irregularity,  disreputable  to 
the  school  and  to  him,  its  master,  and  calling  for  the  severest 
measures  to  put  it  down.  These  measures  involved,  of  course,  a 


ROBIN    DAY.  37 

prodigious  amount  of  flogging;  of  which,  though  all  had  their 
proportion,  a  principal  share  fell  to  the  commanders  in  chief  of  the 
two  armies — that  is,  to  Dicky  Dare  and  myself.  The  school  had 
been  ever  a  Babel;  but  it  was  now  Pandemonium  itself,  nothing 
being  heard  from  morning  till  night,  but  the  thwacks  of  the  birch 
and  ferule,  and  the  yells  of  infant  innocence.  Inexpressible  were 
the  terror,  the  confusion,  the  lamentation  that  prevailed  ;  and  bro- 
ken spirits  and  broken  hearts,  and  tingling  palms  and  smarting 
backs,  were  the  lot  of  all. 

In  this  exigency,  the  genius  of  General  Dare,  whose  soul  only 
grew  the  bigger  under  oppression,  and  whose  ambition  took  a 
higher  flight  for  every  ignominious  elevation  upon  a  schoolmate's 
back,  devised  an  expedient,  than  which  nothing  could  have  been 
better  contrived  to  obviate  every  difficulty,  to  free  us  from  present 
pangs,  and  secure  us  from  all  future  tyranny.  Taking  advantage 
of  our  assembling  together,  one  morning  after  school — alas,  as- 
sembling no  longer  to  fight  or  play,  but  to  mourn  our  sufferings 
and  invoke  execrations  on  the  head  of  our  tyrant — he  invited  us  to 
follow  him  into  a  neighboring  graveyard  (a  favorite  place  of  meet- 
ing, whenever  we  had  any  mischief  to  concoct),  where,  mounting 
upon  a  gravestone — a  proper  rostrum  for  an  occasion  so  solemn — 
doflinghis  hat  with  a  graceful  courtesy,  and  puckering  up  his 
visage  with  the  zeal  for  the  public  good,  of  a  veteran  stump-orator, 
he  began  to  harangue  us  in  the  following  terms: 

"  I  tell  you  what,  boys  and  fellers,"  he  cried,  jumping  in  medias 
res  with  the  directness  of  a  Spartan,  "  there's  no  two  words  about 
the  matter,  and  the  long  and  short  of  it  is,  Old  Bluff  is  the  biggest 
old  tyrant  that  ever  was,  and  treats  us  like  slaves  and  Guinea  nig- 
gers; which  is  a  thing  quite  unbearable  and  scandalous;  because  as 
how,  this  is  a  free  land,  and  we  are  free  people,  as  good  as  any 
body  else ;  and  its  agin  all  law  and  constitution  for  any  body  to 
treat  anybody  like  a  slave,  except  the  niggers;  which  is  because 
the  niggers  is  slaves,  and  not  free  people.  Now  I'll  tell  you  what, 
by  Julius  Ca3sar,  I've  been  considering  about  school-keeping  and 
flogging  the  boys;  and  I've  just  made  it  out,  they  haVt  no  right, 
no  how,  to  do  no  such  thing  in  America;  because  as  how,  we 
haven't  no  kings  here,  but  Presidents,  which  is  make  by  the  people, 
and  is  the  people's  servants,  and  hasn't  no  right  to  hang  people, 
and  cut  off  their  heads  and  flog 'em;  because  how,  they  ain't 
kings,  but  Presidents;  and  its  just  the  same  thing  with  school- 


38  ADVENTURES     OF 

masters,  for  all  of  their  cutting  up  like  kings,  for  they  ain't  kings, 
but  only  Presidents.  Now,  you  see,  this  is  a  free  land,  and  a  re- 
public, which  is  all  freedom  and  equality;  and  the  people  isn't 
ruled  over  by  nobody,  like  England,  and  Rome,  and  Greece,  and 
them  foreign  parts;  but  they  governs  themselves;  and  when  there's 
anybody  to  be  punished  for  kicking  up,  why  the  people  tells  the 
President,  and  he  gives  it  to  'em.  And  so  it's  just  as  clear  as  coffee 
it  ought  to  be  the  same  thing  in  a  school;  for  we're  the  people, 
aud  Old  Bluff's  only  the  President;  and  Old  Bluff  hasn't  no  right 
to  give  it  to  any  of  us,  until  we  say  so ;  because  as  how,  we're  free- 
men, by  Julius  Caesar!  and  we  ought  to  govern  ourselves!  " 

This  doctrine,  which  Avas  worthy  a  child  of  the  republic,  was 
highly  acceptable  to  the  boys,  and  they  agreed,  nem.  con.,  that 
Old  Bluff  had  no  right  to  flog  them  ;  but,  nevertheless,  it  was 
sagaciously  argued,  he  did  flog  them  ;  and  how  were  they  to  help 
themselves  ? 

"  Why,"  said  our  Demosthenes,  with  a  proud  and  resolved  look, 
"  just  do  as  our  dads  did  before  us  ;  for  if  it  hadn't  been  for  them, 
we  wouldn't  have  had  no  Presidents  over  us  at  all,  but  kings.  For 
you  must  know,  we  was  once  slaves,  and  old  King  George,  he  was 
king  over  us  ;  and  he  carried  on  as  he  liked,  and  cut  off  heads,  and 
horsed  and  flogged  the  people,  and  all  that,  just  like  Old  Bluff. 
Well,  you  see,  the  old  folks  couldn't  stand  that,  and  they  turned 
about  and  they  licked  him  ; — father,  he  was  one  of  'em,  and  he  has 
told  me  all  about  it  till  Pm  tired  of  it,  he  makes  such  long  stories 
about  it ;  they  trounced  the  old  feller  ;  it  was  what  you  call  the 
Revolution.  And  ever  since  that,  there's  been  no  more  kings  to 
flog  us,  but  only  Presidents.  And  so  here's  just  my  idea  :  if  Old 
King  Bluff  won't  stop  trouncing,  why  we'll  have  a  Revolution  too, 
and  we'll  turn  on  him  and  give  it  to  him — thump  him,  the  old 
rascal !  thump  him  like  thunder  !" 

Thump  him  !  thump  Old  Bluff  !  The  idea  was  at  lirst  too  great, 
for  our  conceptions,  and  made  us  look  aghast.  But  the  spirit  of 
the  young  patriot,  who  had  delivered  the  last  words  with  terrible 
resolution,  was  not  to  be  checked.  "  Thump  him's  the  idea,  my 
fellers  !"  he  resumed  ;  "  and  we  can  do  it  just  as  easy  as  the  old 
folks  thumped  King  George  ;  because  as  how,  he's  but  one  man, 
and  we're  sixty-four  :  (sixty-four's  the  number,  for  I  was  counting 
you  over,  all  the  mourning  ;)  by  Julius  Ca3sar  !  were  enough  to 


ROBIN    DAY.  39 

eat  him  up.  All  we  want  is  the  pluck  ;  and  if  we've  only  got 
that,  what's  one  feller  of  a  man  among  us  ?" 

In  short,  the  young  hero  made  it  apparent  to  the  meanest  of  our 
capacities  and  the  weakest  of  our  hearts,  that  nothing  could  be 
easier  than  for  sixty-four  boys,  of  whom  at  least  a  dozen  were  full 
sixteen  years  old,  and  two  or  three,  like  himself,  nearly  a  year 
older,  to  bring  our  tyrant  to  a  reckoning  for  all  his  manifold  op- 
pressions and  acts  of  cruelty  ;  and  having  debated  the  matter  over 
again  twice  or  thrice,  to  determine  upon  a  plan  of  proceedings,  it 
was  at  last  unanimously  resolved  to  begin  a  revolution  forthwith, 
for  the  purpose  of  dethroning  the  despot,  or  reducing  him  to  the 
level  of  a  mere  president  of  the  school,  and  establishing  our  rights 
upon  a  firm  republican  basis,  to  endure  for  ever. 

This  resolution,  which  the  democratic  reader  cannot  but  ap- 
prove, we  had  an  opportunity  to  put  into  practice  the  very  next 
morning,  when  our  tyrant,  unconscious  of  the  mine  about  to  burst 
under  his  feet,  proceeded  to  begin  the  bnsiness  of  the  school  in  his 
usual  way  ;  that  is,  by  calling  up  for  punishment  an  unlucky 
little  culprit,  whom  he  judged  most  worthy  of  his  favor  at  that 
moment.  Upon  this  the  patriotic  Dare,  who  had  offered  himself 
for  this  trying  duty,  rose  behind  his  desk,  and  catching  up  a 
pewter  inkstand  of  some  two  pounds  in  weight,  addressed  the  as- 
tonished autocrat  as  follows  : 

"  I  tell  you  what,  Old  Bluff  ! — that  is,  Mr.  Burley  ! — we  have  a 
sort  of  resolved,  all  of  us,  that  this  here  eternal  horsing  and  thump- 
ing is  not  the  sort  of  thing  we  can  stand  any  longer  ;  because  as 
how,  this  is  a  free  country,  where  the  people  is  all  free  republican 
people,  and  we  boys  is  as  free  people  as  any  body  else,  and  will 
fight  for  our  rights  like  our  fathers  before  us.  And  so  don't  touch 
that  boy  ;  for  we  won't  stand  such  doings  no  longer  ;  we  won't, 
by  Julius  Caesar  !" 

This  address,  and  the  meanacing  attitude  which  all  the  boys, 
thus  encouraged  by  their  patriot  leader,  immediately  assumed,  each 
grasping  at  some  weapon  or  other,  a  slate  or  book,  or  whatever  he 
could  pick  up,  seemed  to  have  actually  pertified  the  pedagogue, 
who  turned  pale,  and  sat  down,  staring  around  him  as  if  in  a 
dream  ;  of  which  the  lad  whom  he  had  called  up  took  advantage 
to  sneak  away  to  his  bench  ;  while  the  insurgents,  not  doubting 
that  their  tyrant  was  actually — to  use  their  own  elegant  word — 
cowed  by  their  display  of  resolution,  began  to  resume  their  seats, 


40  ADVENTURES    OF 

uttering  murmurs  of  felicitation  and  triumph.  The  sound  awoke 
the  master  from  his  trance ;  he  sprang  up,  and  grasping  his 
birch,  called  out  in  a  most  furious  voice — "You  Dickey  Dare- 
devil, what's  that  you  ?  Come  here,  you  villain,  and  I'll  trounce 
you." 

"I  won't  be  trounced,"  said  Dickey  Dare,  "  except  by  a  vote  of 

the  boys  ;  for  I  goes  on  the  popular  principle,  and "  But 

Dickey  had  no  time  to  finish  his  sentence,  for  Burley  immediately 
rushed  forward  to  seize  him,  which  Dickey  was  fain  to  avoid  by 
leaping  over  his  desk  to  the  floor;  where,  being  closely  followed, 
he  let  fly  his  inkstand,  by  which  he  did  great  damage  to  the  head 
of  one  of  his  schoolmates,  without,  however,  hurting  the  master, 
and  then  dropping  like  a  log  on  the  floor,  whereby  the  autoract, 
whose  legs  he  dexterously  s.eized  upon,  was  suddenly  overturned, 
with  a  shock  that  left  him  for  a  moment  quite  breathless.  "  Now, 
fellers  ! — them  that  ain't  cowards,  fall  on!"  cried  the  hero  to  his 
fellow  conspirators  ;  who,  having  been  somewhat  horrified  by  the 
sudden  rally  of  the  enemy,  now  recovered  courage,  and  rushed 
upon  him  pell-mell ;  so  that  when  he  recovered  from  the  shock  of 
his  fall,  not  Gulliver  himself,  waking  from  his  first  nap  in  Lilliput, 
was  more  multiduniously  overrun  by  the  bodies,  or  more  hope- 
lessly secured  in  the  toils  of  his  pigmy  foes. 

"  Bang  away,"  roared  General  Dare,  the  patriot ;  "  down  goes 
all  tyrants  !  Freedom  and  equality  for  ever  !  All  them  that's 
got  sore  bones,  pay  him  up  old  scores." 

Horrible  were  the  din  and  confusion  that  now  prevailed  ;  and 
horrible  also,  for  a  moment,  were  the  struggles  of  the  down- 
fallen  monarch  ;  who,  however,  being  somewhat  troubled  with 
an  asthma,  became  after  a  time  completely  exhausted  and  inca- 
pable of  further  resistance  ;  upon  which  Master  Dare  demanded 
handkerchiefs  to  bind  him  securely  ;  which  being  effected,  this 
incomparable  putter- down  of  tyrants  snatched  up  a  birchen  twitr, 
and  dispensed,  with  uncommon  coolness,  a  dozen  thwacks  upon 
the  victim's  shoulders.  Nor  did  he  rest  here,  but  passing  the 
rod  from  hand  to  hand,  compelled  every  member  of  the  new 
born  republic  to  administer,  in  like  manner,  the  same  number 
of  blows,  which  wTere,  in  general,  laid  on  with  exceeding  good 
will.  This  being  accomplished,  he  called  for  three  cheers  ;  after 
which  we  all  took  to  our  heels,  leaving  the  deposed  ruler  to  his 
meditations. 


ROBIN    DAT.  41 

The  result  of  this  exploit  exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expec- 
tations. We  had  our  misgivings,  when  it  was  over,  as  to  its 
effect  upon  the  good  people  of  the  town,  especially  upon  our 
parents  and  guardians  ;  who,  we  fearecl,  might  espouse  the 
enemy's  interests,  and  exact  a  terrible  retribution.  But,  as  our 
good  fortune  would  have  it,  Burley  was  by  no  means  a  favorite 
of  the  people,  his  manners  being  stiff  and  disagreeable,  and  his 
severity  in  school  occasionally  made  the  subject  of  remark  and 
disapproval  ;  and  his  misadventure,  which  was  indeed  surprising 
and  ridiculous  enough,  excited  much  more  mirth  than  commisse- 
ration.  The  disgrace  of  the  thing,  added  to  this  want  of  sym- 
pathy, and  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  any  satisfaction  or 
reparation — for  he  was  ashamed  to  carry  his  complaints  before 
a  magistrate — drove  the  poor  fellow  half  mad;  so  that  he  packed 
up  his  effects,  and  in  two  days  decamped  from  the  town,  without 
any  one  knowing  whither  he  had  gone. 


42  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Academy  is  converted  into  a  Republic  ;  and  how  it  prospered 
under  its  Presidents. 

THE  exploit  was  productive  also  of  another  effect  extremely  ad- 
vantageous to  our  schoolboy  interests.  It  set  the  town  people  to 
discussing  the  merits  of  the  flogging  system  of  education,  which, 
being  now  brought  under  consideration  for  the  first  time,  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  majority  entirely  unsuited  to  the  character  and 
genius  of  a  republican  people,  whose  children,  it  was  demonstrated, 
ought  to  be  brought  up  with  the  highest  ideas  of  personal  inde- 
pendence and  honor  of  freedom  and  equality,  which  the  tyranny 
of  the  rod  must  inevitably  beat  out  of  their  tender  spirits.  To 
subject  them  to  the  sway  of  a  despot  in  youth,  was  to  prepare 
them  for  slavery  in  their  riper  years,  to  render  them  the  ready  prey 
of  any  designing  demagogue  who  might  aim  at  the  liberties  of  the 
people.  In  short,  this  question  (there  being  a  minority  opposed  to 
the  new  docrine)  produced  a  furious  ferment  in  the  town,  and  would, 
I  doubt  not,  in  time,  have  resulted  in  an  entire  change  in  the  State 
Government,  for  it  was  fast  assuming  a  political  aspect,  when  it 
was  put  an  end  to  by  the  minority  yielding  the  point,  and  agree- 
ing with  the  others  that  the  Academy  should  thenceforth  be  gov- 
erened  on  republican  principles — that  is,  that  there  should  be  no 
more  flogging. 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolve,  a  new  teacher  was  sought  for,  ca- 
pable of  administering  Hic-hcec-hoc  on  the  new  system,  and  a  worthy 
personage,  who  had  previously  made  application  for  the  vacancy, 
and  was  willing  to  try  the  experiment,  was  engaged,  and  forthwith 
entered  upon  his  presidential  labors. 

The  experiment,  in  his  hands,  lasted  only  a  fortnight,  for, 
whether  it  was  that  he  was  at  heart  opposed  to  the  system,  or  that 
we  were  as  yet  too  young  in  liberty  to  know  how  to  enjoy  the 
blessing  in  moderation,  it  is  very  certain  that,  at  the  expiration  of 
the  second  week,  he  summoned  the  Trustees  together,  assured  them 


ROBIN    DAY.  43 

that  the  republican  system  of  schoolkeeping  was  all  moonshine, 
and  declared  that  unless  he  was  permitted  to  resort  to  the  ultima 
ratio  pcedagogorum,  i.  e.  the  birch,  to  maintain  his  authority,  he 
must  give  up  his  charge  altogether;  and,  as  he  was  as  resolute  in 
his  demand  as  the  Trustees  were  in  refusing  it,  the  controversy 
ended  in  his  immediate  abdication. 

A  new  teacher  was  soon  obtained,  who  warmly  approved  of  the 
new  principle,  and  averred  that,  from  his  experience,  boys  were 
more  easily,  as  well  as  more  profitably,  governed  by  appealing  to 
their  pride  and  good  sense  than  to  their  palms  and  shoulders — that 
the  rod,  which  always  left  the  memory  and  taint  of  dishonor,  or 
any  kind  of  bodily  punishment,  did  more  harm  than  good — that  he 
had  never  trounced  a  lad  in  his  life,  but,  in  extreme  cases,  had 
found  that  exposing  the  culprit  to  the  ridicule  of  his  playmates 
was  sufficient,  and,  indeed,  the  most  effectual  puunishment  that 
could  be  inflicted.  And  this  kind  of  punishment  he  proposed  to 
administer  by  means  of  a  fool's  cap  or  ass's  head,  I  know  not  which 
he  called  it,  (but  I  remember  it  had  long  ears  with  little  bells  all 
over  it),  to  be  clapped  on  the  offender's  head;  and  this,  the  Trus- 
tees, after  he  had  displayed  it  for  their  inspection  and  admiration 
on  his  own  head,  (which,  I  think,  it  must  have  become  exceed- 
ingly), agreed  he  should  be  permitted  to  introduce  into  the 
school. 

The  first  trial  was  unfortunately  made  upon  the  poll  of  General 
Dickey  Dare,  for  some  slight  offence — I  believe,  whistling  Yankee 
Doodle  in  the  midst  of  a  recitation,  of  which  he  was  growing  tired 
— who  took  it  in  great  dudgeon,  and,  indeed,  flung  it  out  of  the 
window,  a  freedom  that  the  President,  forgetting  his  horror  of 
all  bodily  punishment,  resisted  by  a  furious  box  on  the  ear.  This 
outrage,  the  more  intolerable,  as  all  now  knew  that  the  Trustees 
themselves  had  espoused  our  cause,  and  forbidden  flogging  in  toto, 
was  instantly  avenged  by  a  volley  of  inkstands  from  all  quarters 
of  the  room,  by  which  the  aggressor  was  so  amazed  and  terrified 
that  he  immediately  leaped  out  of  the  same  window  that  had 
given  exit  to  the  foolscap,  which, .  with  himself,  was  never  more 
seen  in  the  Academy 

The  next  teacher  obtained  met  the  views  of  all  concerned,  being 
a  very  amiable,  indolent  personage,  who  agreed  the  more  readily 
to  adopt  the  republican  system,  as  he  had  just  brains  enough  to 
perceive  it  would  save  him  a  vast  deal  of  trouble.  He  seemed 


44  ADVENTURES    OF 

very  well  content  we  should  do  as  we  pleased,  get  our  lessons 
when  we  liked,  and  as  we  liked,  come  in  and  go  out,  laugh,  talk, 
play,  fight,  or  do  anything  else  just  as  we  thought  proper;  a  de- 
gree of  forbearance  that  won  our  entire  love  and  respect,  which  we 
were  accustomed  to  show  by  peppering  him,  whenever  he  was  in 
a  brown  study,  with  potato  popguns  and  showers  of  ripe  elder- 
berries; by  emptying  the  ink  bottle  on  his  chair  when  he  appeared 
in  white  trowsers,  and  strewing  it  with  pin  caltrops  when  in  brown; 
and  by  sundry  other  innocent  tricks,  wherewith  tender  juveniles 
delight  to  show  their  affection.  These  little  freedoms,  it  is  true, 
sometimes  drove  him  into  a  passion,when  he  scolded  at  us  with  great 
energy  and  emphasis;  but  they  gave  him  no  disgust  to  the  school, 
in  which  he  might  have  perhaps  remained  the  president  to  this 
day,  had  it  not  been  for  a  discovery  made  by  some  busy  bodies, 
which  brought  his  administration  to  a  close,  after  six  months'  sway, 
and  wrought  somewhat  of  a  change  in  public  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  new  system. 

The  discovery  was,  that,  under  the  said  system,  learning  was  at 
a  stand-still,  the  boys  having  actually  advanced  in  nothing  but 
mischief  during  all  that  period.  The  system  was  again  brought 
under  discussion  ;  the  minority  who  had  originally  opposed  it,  re- 
peated their  denunciations  ;  and,  after  another  squabble,  which, 
this  time,  bade  fair  to  shake  even  the  National  Government  (so 
hot,  furious,  political  and  patriotic  were  the  passions  it  excited), 
our  enemies  prevailed,  and  schoolboy  rights  and  schoolboy  glory 
fell  forever. 

It  was  now  urged,  that  the  best  way  to  bring  up  the  boys  of  a 
republic  in  detestation  of  tyrants,  was-  to  put  tyrants  over  them 
during  their  school  days,  and  thwack  them  into  a  thorough  appre- 
ciation of  the  horrors  and  inconveniences  of  oppression.  In  short,, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  Ancien  Regime  should  be  restored,  and  the 
birch  used  as  before  ;  or,  at  least,  so  far  as  was  necessary  to  help 
us  along  with  our  books  and  keep  us  on  our  best  behavior. 

In  coming  to  this  resolution,  our  enemies  (for  so  we  now  con- 
sidered the  Trustees,  and  all  who  took  part  with  them),  forgot  the 
lessons  of  history  and  experience  ;  which  teach,  that,  however 
easy  it  may  be  to  enslave  a  people  who  have  enjoyed  freedom  so 
long  as  to  be  tired  of  it,  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  subjugate  those 
who 'have  just  come  to  a  taste  of  it.  Had  they  pondered  this 
truth  a  little,  they  would  have  saved  themselves  a  good  deal  of 


EOBIN    DAY.  45 

surprise  at  what  befell,  upon  the  third  day  of  the  reign  of  the  new 
master  they  had  appointed  to  rule  over  us  ;  when  that  indiscreet 
personage,  having  nourished  his  rod  for  the  first  time,  was  val- 
iently  set  upon  by  General  Dare  and  the  rest,  and  ejected  from 
the  premises,  after  having  suffered  a  castigation  ten  times  more 
severe  and  wholesome  than  any  he  could  have  ever  designed  to 
inflict. 

Another  teacher  was  obtained,  and  with  a  like  result ;  and  then 
another,  whose  reign  was  as  briefly  and  ingloriously  brought  to  an 
end  ;  by  which  time,  the  Trustees,  who  were  now  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  the  democratic  system  had  ruined  us,  and  were  re- 
solved to  leave  no  means  untried  to  flog  us  into  submission,  began 
to  perceive  a  difficulty  in  obtaining  masters — those  whom  we  had 
driven  from  the  chair  having  united  in  representing  us  as  such  a 
set  of  bloody-minded  young  desperadoes,  nay,  of  incarnate  imps, 
that  others  of  the  race  were  filled  with  terror,  and  declined  hav- 
ing anything  to  do  with  the  school  ;  and,  in  fact,  there  was  an  in- 
terregnum of  two  months  during  which  we  happy  republicans  en- 
joyed a  famous  holiday. 


46  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER     VII. 

A.  conspiracy   against  the  liberties  of  the  Infant   Republic;  and 
President  M"*  Goggin  is  elected  to  ride  over  it. 

At  the  end  of  this  space,  the  Trustees  succeeded  in  engaging 
the  services  of  a  personage,  who,  I  verily  believe,  was  procured 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  testing  the  efficacy  of  the  brutuni  fulmen, 
of  subjugating  us  by  main  force  ;  for  he  was  an  illiterate,  vulgar 
dolt,  an  Irishman  just  caught,  who  professed,  as  he  said  himself, 
to  teach  nothing  but  "  r'ading,  writing,  'rithmetic^  and  dacent 
manners  ;"  although,  in  other  respects,  the  very  man  the  Trustees 
wanted.  His  name  was  M'Goggin.  He  was  six  feet  high,  and 
limbed  and  shouldered  like  a  Hercules  ;  and,  indeed,  of  such 
strength  and  activity,  that,  had  he  been  set  at  the  business  for 
which  he  was  best  qualified — that  is,  canal-digging — I  have  no 
doubt  he  would  have  cut  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  in  a 
month,  without  any  assistance.  He  had  an  ugly  look,  too,  about 
the  eyes,  which,  besides  being  of  the  color  of  a  cat's,  were  over- 
shadowed by  a  pair  of  brows  of  such  a  bigness  and  appearance 
that  they  looked  like  two  stuffed  rat-skins  stuck  on  with  glue  ;  and 
his  complexion  was  of  the  hue  of  sole  leather,  plentifully  be- 
sprinkled with  freckles  of  the  size  of  half -dimes.  To  add  to  his 
demerits,  he  was  entirely  incapable  of  fear,  and  had  such  a  natu- 
ral love  of  a  row,  that,  when  informed  by  the  Trustees  of  our 
character  and  doings,  and  the  probability,  or  indeed,  certainty  of 
his  soon  being  embroiled  with  us,  he  rubbed  his  hands  with  satis- 
faction, and  declared  we  were  "  swate  little  divils,"  and  that  "  we 
should  get  along  very  well  together." 

I  remember  very  well  the  impression  which  the  first  view  of 
this  destined  enslaver  produced  upon  the  scholars  ;  and  it  was 
none  the  weaker  for  some  hints  of  his  qualities  which  had  begun 
to  circulate  among  us.  We  were  assembled  at  the  Academy  door, 
comparing  accounts,  when  the  new  President  was  pointed  out  by 
one  who  had  seen  him  before,  crossing  the  street  to  a  turnstile, 


ROBIN    DAY.  47 

which  led  into  the  schoolhouse  green,  through  a  fence  full  five  feet 
high.  We  all  pronouuced  him  a  giant,  and  some  one  said  he 
looked  as  if  he  could  "  walk  over  the  fence  like  nothing ;"  a  de- 
claration, which,  though  made  in  jest,  was  justified  by  the  event  ; 
for  the  gentleman,  neglecting  the  stile,  either  because  he  did  not 
see  it,  or  scorned  to  pass  by  a  mode  so  humble  and  commonplace, 
suddenly  leaped  into  the  air  and  over  the  fence,  without  so  much 
as  laying  his  hands  upon  it ;  which,  indeed,  he  could  not  do,  both 
hands  being  occupied  by  two  mysterious-looking  bundles,  the 
nature  of  which,  at  that  distance,  we  could  not  make  out.  The 
facility  with  which  he  performed  this  wondrous  feat,  as  if  it  were 
a  matter  of  every  day's  occurrence,  and  the  appearance  he  had  in 
the  air  so  like  a  fiery  dragon  or  a  flying  dromedary,  struck  a  kind 
of  terror  into  the  youthful  republicans,  who  looked  upon  one 
another  with  blank  visages  ;  and  then,  as  Mr.  M'Goggin  drew  nigh, 
slunk  away  silently  into  the  school,  and  betook  them  to  their  seats. 

In  a  moment  more,  M'Goggin  entered  ;  and  we  then  saw  that 
the  two  bundles  he  carried  were  composed  of  goodly  birchen 
twigs,  there  being  at  least  a  gross  of  them  altogether  ;  and  this 
sight,  it  may  be  supposed,  did  not  banish  the  chill  of  our  first  im- 
pressions. These  odious  emblems  of  rule,  carried  on  his  shoulders 
like  the  fasces  of  a  Roman  lictor,  he  bore  to  the  master's  desk,  sit- 
uated on  a  platform  ;  which  having  ascended,  he  turned  upon  us 
the  light  of  his  countenance,  and  roared,  (for  his  voice  was  like 
the  bellow  of  a  bull,)  in  tones  that  made  the  glasses  rattle,  and,  I 
might  almost  add,  some  of  our  bones  into  the  bargain — "  Good 
morrow  till  ye,  ye  spalpeens  !  I'm  your  masther  and  t'acher.  Get 
up  and  make  me  a  bow,  to  show  your  good  manners." 

Now  whether  it  was  that  there  was  electricity  in  his  tones,  or 
that  we  were  all  willing  to  prove  we  were  well  bred  young  gen- 
tlemen, it  is  very  certain  that  every  soul  in  school,  at  these  words, 
bounced  up  and  fell  to  scraping  and  ducking  with  the  utmost  ci- 
vility ;  which  being  done,  the  invader,  dropping  down  upon  his 
chair,  roared  out  again,  before  we  could  follow  his  example  and 
resume  our  seats,  which  we  were  about  to  do — "  Stand  at  aise  !  as 
ye  are,  ye  rapperees,  'till  I  lay  down  the  law  till  ye  !" 

In  this,  also,  he  was  obeyed  ;  though  I  cannot  say  any  of  us 
actually  stood  at  our  ease,  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  remained  casting 
wild  and  anxious  glances  one  upon  another,  as  if  doubting  whether 
we  had  not  of  a  sudden  got  some  dangerous  nondescript  animal,  in- 


48  ADVENTURES     OP 

stead  of  a  new  preceptor,  among  us.  But  the  gentleman  gave  us  no 
time  for  pondering.  "  Now,  ye  blackguards  !"  he  cried,  "  listen  to 
my  spache,  and  remimber  it  every  letther  ;  and  him  that  doesn't 
belave  me,  I'll  have  the  skin  of  him.  D'ye  hear,  ye  vagabones  ! 
Now,  thin,  I'm  tould  ye're  an  illigant  set  of  divil's  imps,  one  an' 
all,  that  knows  nayther  manners,  nor  obadience,  nor  dacency  of  be- 
havior ;  but,  arrah,  ye  divils,  look  me  in  the  face,  till  I  tell  ye  what 
I  am  of  meselfy  that  is  the  Masther  over  ye  !" 

Every  eye  was  at  once  obediently  turned  upon  the  gentleman, 
who  with  furious  voice,  and  hideous  contortions  of  countenance, 
like  a  bulldog  taking  physic,  continued  : 

"  Be  the  powers,  I'm  nothing  at  all  at  all,  only  jist  the  gentle- 
man that  will  bate  the  wickedness  out  of  ye  !  D'ye  hear  that,  ye 
rapscallions  ?" 

And  with  that,  Mr.  M'Goggin,  whose  ire  seemed  to  rise  at  the 
sound  of  his  own  voice,  jumped  up  again  ;  and  nourishing  his 
birches,  a  whole  bundle  at  a  time,  again  burst  forth  :  "  D'ye  want 
to  be  licked,  ye  divils  ?  I'm  tould  ye're  grand  fighting  ganiuses. 
But  d'ye  want  it  ?  Does  any  of  ye  want  it  ?  If  so,  spake  ;  spake 
up  like  big  little  fellows,  any  of  ye  ;  for,  be  me  sowl,  I'm  itching 
to  begin  wid  ye  !" 

This  harangue,  or  rather  defiance,  for  it  was  nothing  less,  the 
horrid  fellow  concluded  by  marching  round  the  room,  and  prying 
into  every  countenance,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  finding  some  one  dis- 
posed to  try  conclusions  with  him  ;  and  it  is  wonderful  with  what 
pacific  modesty  every  eye  was  cast  to  the  floor,  the  moment  Mr. 
M'Goggin  stood  before  its  possessor.  Even  General  Dicky  Dare, 
who  we  thought  could  face  Old  Nick  himself,  was  observed  to  be- 
come so  studious  and  intent  upon  a  sum  he  was  working  on  his  slate, 
as  the  gorgon  passed,  as  to  be  quite  unable  to  lift  his  eyes  up  to  it. 
In  short,  we  were  all  very  peceably  inclined  that  morning,  and 
stood  the  challenge  with  patience — because,  as  we  agreed,  as  soon 
as  we  got  out  of  school,  Mr.  M'Goggin  was  a  stranger,  and  it  was 
not  worth  while  to  quarrel  with  him  at  the  first  introduction. 
Besides,  as  we  also  concluded,  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  wait  a 
while,  to  know  what  sort  of  person  he  was. 

In  this  particular,  Mr.  M'Goggin  did  all  he  could  to  gratify  us, 
by  laying  open  his  characteristics  as  fast  as  possible.  I  should 
rather  say,  his  characteristic,  for  he  had  but  one  ;  and  that  was  a 
raging  desire  to  get  an  opportunity  to  trounce  some  of  us.  He 


ROBIN    DAT.  49 

sat  upon  the  watch  all  day  long,  birch  in  hand,  threatening,  fifty 
times  an  hour,  if  a  boy  did  but  look  up,  or  scratch  his  head,  or 
drop  a  book,  or  stir  on  his  seat,  or  do,  in  fact,  any  thing  at  all,  to 
"  bate  "  him,  if  he  did  that  again ;  and  as  we  were  all  too  intent 
upon  the  study  of  his  characteristics,  as  above,  to  think  of  giving 
him  such  an  opportunity  of  quarreling  with  us,  it  so  happened  that, 
for  five  whole  days,  to  the  infinite  astonishment  of  the  whole  town, 
we  were  the  best  behaved  boys  that  were  ever  seen  in  a  school- 
room. 


50  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

President  M*  Gog  gin  converts  his  government  into  a  despotism : 
the  patriots  rise  in  insurrection,  and  strike  a  terrible  blow  for 
freedom :  the  effects  of  the  great  battle  between  the  oppressor 
and  the  oppressed. 

ON  the  sixth  day,  the  usurper  waxing  weary  of  his  close  appli- 
cation, and  deeming  his  power  perfectly  established,  began  to 
relax  somewhat  in  his  vigilance  ;  and  in  the  afternoon  took 
occasion  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  house  across  the  way,  that  he  had 
hired  for  the  reception  of  his  family,  which,  with  the  assistance  of 
an  old  negress  whom  he  had  taken  into  'his  service,  he  was  now 
fitting  up  for  his  residence.  We  took  advantage  of  his  absence  to 
relax  a  little  ourselves,  being  as  tired  as  he  of  the  stupidity  of  the 
five  former  days;  and  not  knowing  in  what  better  way  to  amuse 
ourselves,  we  got  up  a  little  fight  between  two  of  the  juniors;  and 
this  gradually  setting  some  half  dozen  others  by  the  ears,  there 
presently  arose  a  prodigious  uproar,  which  reached  the  auditories  of 
M'Goggin,  and  brought  him  immediately  back.  As  we  had 
warning  of  his  return,  the  fray  was  over,  and  we  were  all  at  our 
seats,  diligently  poring  over  books  and  slates,  before  he  entered ; 
which  he  did  with  thundering  step,  bellowing,  as  he  snatched  up  a 
bundle  of  his  birches — "  Who's  been  fighting  ?  Tell  me,  ye 
villains,  and  I'll  give  it  till  'em  ! " — a  question  which,  being 
addressed  to  the  whole  school,  no  one  felt  himself  called  on  to 
answer. 

Seeing  this,  and  having  repeated  the  question  a  second  time 
without  effect,  M'Goggin  strode  to  the  door,  locked  it,  and  de- 
posited the  key  in  his  pocket;  and  we  were  thus  shut  up  with  the 
tiger,  with  no  possibility  of  escape;  a  horrid  situation;  but  its 
very  desperateness  began  to  infuse  a  kind  of  courage  into  the 
breasts  of  many  of  us.  Then  stepping  back  to  his  platform,  he 
cried  out  again,  with  a  most  ferocious  look — "  Arrah,  ye  little 
divils,  ye  don't  think  I'm  now  going  to  tache  you  a  lesson  !  Look 


ROBIN    DAY.  51 

upon  me  face  !  I  intind  to  ask  you  the  question  one  after  another, 
and  him  that  doesn't  answer,  be  the  powers,  I'll  have  the  sowl 
of  him  !  And,  be  me  faith,  I'll  begin  with  the  biggest  of  ye." 

And  with  that  he  stepped  to  Dicky  Dare,  (who  being  now 
driven  to  the  wall,  exchanged  glances  with  me,  full  of  martial 
meaning  and  resolution,)  and  demanded — "  Who's  been  fighting, 
ye  spalpeen  ?" 

"  Why,  really,"  responded  Dicky,  modestly,  (but  I  observed  he 
stole  his  fingers  towards  an  inkstand;  and  I  did  the  same,  besides 
winking  invitingly  to  others  to  make  ready,)  "I  have  been  so  busy 
with  this  here  problem,  I  can't  pretend  to  say  any  thing  about  it." 

"  Ye  lie,  ye  vagabone  !"  cried  the  tyrant;  an  expression  that  the 
insulted  general  immediately  retorted  by  calling  him  an  "Irish  black- 
guard," and  throwing  the  contents  of  the  inkstand  into  his  face  ; 
while,  at  the  same  moment,  down  came,  like  the  tail  of  a  comet, 
whisking  a  world  out  its  sphere,  the  whole  bundle  of  switches  upon 
Dicky's  head,  whereby,  as  he  afterwards  said,  he  got  six  dozen 
stripes  all  in  one.  "  Hurrah  for  freedom  and  school  boys'  rights!" 
roared  Dicky,  making  the  inkstand  follow  the  ink.  "  Come  up  to 
the  scratch,  boys,  and  we'll  trounce  the  black-faced  beggar  in 
no  time ;" — a  call  that  was  responded  to  by  some  twenty  or  thirty 
of  us,  who  felt  that  the  case  was  desperate,  and  that  we  must  fight 
now  or  yield  for  ever.  But  more  than  half  our  republicans,  I  am 
ashamed  to  say,  were  under  such  terror  of  the  oppressor's  looks, 
that  they  sat  still,  giving  us  no  assistance  whatever. 

And  now  came  the  tug  of  war — the  crashing  of  the  bundled 
birches  on  heads  and  shoulders,  the  rattling  of  inkstands  against 
breast,  wall  and  window — the  shout,  the  cry,  the  rush,  the  scuffle, 
the  squeak  and  groan,  the  thump,  the  kick,  the  slip,  the  tumble, 
the  sound  of  rending  garments — for  it  was  a  Kilkenny  business, 
and  coats  and  jackets  went  to  pieces,  if  they  did  not  utterly  vanish 
in  dust  and  smoke.  Never  did  twenty  patriots  rush  to  the  attack 
of  their  country's  foe  with  nobler  intrepidity  than  we;  never  did 
twenty  bulldogs  more  valiantly  leap  upon  the  throat  and  back  of 
armed  rhinoceros  or  Hyrcan  tiger.  In  short,,  we  did  wonders, 
but  the  greatest  wonder  of  all  was,  that  we  did  wonders  in  vain ; 
for  in  five  minutes  space  there  was  not  a  soul  of  us  that  was  not 
put  hors  de  combat.  Valor,  patriotism,  the  love  of  liberty  and 
glory,  could  do  nothing  against  a  foe  like  Mr.  M'Goggin;  who, 
having  snatched  up  General  Dare  as  General  Dare  would 


52  ADVENTURES    OF 

have  snatched  up  a  kitten,  and  slung  him  round  by  the  leg,  in  a 
circle,  as  a  slinger  whirls  his  sling,  whereby  myself  and  seven 
others  where  laid  flat,  and  Dicky,  who  unfortunately  slipped 
through  his  fingers,  lodged  on  the  top  of  a  bookcase  that  contained 
the  school  library — caught  up  another  combatant,  whom  he  hurled 
like  a  cannon  ball  at  the  heads  of  the  rest,  disabling  four,  as  well 
as  his  missile,  and  ended  by  demolishing  the  others  in  the 
usual  Irish  way,  that  is,  by  knocking  them  down  with  his  fists. 

This  ending,  however,  was,  with  him,  only  the  beginning  ;  for, 
having  now  rendered  the  whole  of  us  comf  ormable,  he  recurred  to 
his  birches,  and  flogged  us — alas  !  no  longer  resisting,  in  a  manner 
that  is  quite  indescribable.  In  short,  he  entirely  used  up  his  bun- 
dle of  six  dozen  upon  us  ;  and  this  being  done,  he  appropriated 
the  remaining  fascis  to  the  others,  the  non-combatant  members  of 
the  confederacy,  whom  he  trounced  with  great  regularity  and  im- 
partiality, one  after  the  other,  till  he  had  gone  over  the  whole 
school.  In  half  an  hour  we  were  a  vanquished  people — all 
vanquished,  all  subdued — dreaming  no  longer  of  our  rights,  but 
of  our  backs — crest-fallen,  heart-fallen,  chop-fallen,  without  the 
courage  left  us  even  to  indulge  the  hope  of  vengeance. 

But  vengeance  was,  nevertheless,  in  store. 


ROBIN    DAY.  53 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Robin  escapes  from  slavery,  and  begins  to  be  a  young  person  of 

promise. 

AT  the  time  of  M'Goggin's  appearance  and  usurpation,  1  was,  or 
(for  the  matter  was  by  no  means  certain)  was  supposed  to  be  very 
nearly  seventeen  years  old  ;  an  age  at  which  the  reader  may  be 
surprised  at  finding  me  still  a  schoolboy. 

To  explain  this  circumstance,  I  may  observe,  first,  that  boys  m 
my  day,  and  in  that  country,  were  not  supposed  to  reach  the  years 
of  discretion  so  soon  as  they  do  now  ;  it  being  no  uncommon  thing 
to  see  gawky  fellows  of  eighteen  or  nineteen,  with  mown  chins 
and  bass  voices,  sitting  at  the  desk  in  school,  as  simple  as  their 
neighbors,  or  playing  shinney  on  the  green  with  all  the  zeal  and 
abandon  of  boyhood.  This  undoubtedly  arose,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure from  the  defective  system  and  means  of  education  ;  but  ir 
part  also,  from  the  negligent  way  in  which  boys  were  brought  up 
by  their  parents  ;  who,  having  their  heads  full  of  their  own  busi- 
ness, were  usually  glad  to  delegate  all  charge  of  them,  with  all  the 
trouble  to  ill-rewarded  and  incompetent  schoolmasters. 

When  boys  were  intended  for  college,  greater  pains  were  indeed 
taken  to  find  them  good  teachers,  who  inspired  them  with  early 
manliness  ;  but  in  the  common  schools,  where  the  majority  of  ] 
were  to  finish  their  education,  the  masters  being  such  ignoramuses 
as  I  have  described,  they  were  commonly  left  to  themselves,  and 
remained,  to  all  purposes,  boys,  until  their  education,  or  rather  the 
period  assigned  to  it,  was   completed;  when,  being  taken  away 
from  school,  they  immediately  became  men,  the  change  being  e 
fected,  like  that  from  day  to  night  in  tropical  regions,  without  any 
twilight,  or  gradual  merging  of  the  one  into  the  other 
ner  of  the  transformation  was  as  ridiculous  as  its  ™*^^ 
ness  was  striking.    A  neckcloth  and  a  pair   of  high-heeled  boots 
were  put  on  ;  and  then  the  wearer  suddenly  amazed  his  friends £y 
beginning  to  talk  grammar-that   is,   by   saying,  for      them  i 


54  ADVENTURES    OF 

lers  ""  those  fellows  ;"  for  "me  and  him,"  "he  and  I,"  &c.— 
using  big  words,  and  trouncing  all  the  boys,  his  associates  of  the 
day  before,  who  accosted  him  with  the  old  familiar  nickname  of 
friendship,  instead  of  saluting  him  by  the  honorable  title  of  Mis- 
ter. 

There  was  the  additional  reason  for  my  remaining  so  long  a 
schoolboy,  that  I  was  more  than  twelve  years  old  before  I  began 
my  education,  and  was,  at  that  period,  as  I  have  mentioned,  seve- 
ral years  behind  my  age,  as  it  respected  the  growth  of  both  mind 
and  body.  It  is  true,  that,  having  once  taken  a  start,  I  was  soon 
on  a  par,  as  to  intelligence,  with  other  boys  of  my  age,  and,  in 
some  respects,  even  advanced  beyond  them ;  but  J  was  certainly, 
like  the  rest,  a  mere  boy,  so  long  as  I  remained  at  school — and, 
indeed,  as  the  reader  may  perhaps  think,  for  a  good  while  after- 
wards. 

From  what  I  have  said  of  the  anxiety  of  parents  to  escape  the 
charge  and  trouble  of  their  children,  it  will  not  seem  very  sur- 
prising that  little  was  done  on  their  part  to  abate  or  punish  the 
excesses  into  which  we  were  driven  by  the  belligerent  and  demo- 
cratic spirit  prevailing  amongst  us.  There  was,  undoubtedly, 
great  commotion  among  them  at  every  new  flogging  and  expul- 
sion of  the  master  they  had  set  over  us ;  at  such  times  they  scolded 
us  with  great  energy,  expatiated  upon  the  enormity  of  the  offence, 
and  even  threatened  us  with  the  terrors  of  private  castigation ; — 
nay,  sometimes,  even  vowed  they  would  give  us  up  to  the  civil 
authorities,  to  be  punished  for  riot  and  assault  and  battery.  As 
for  expelling  us  the  school,  that  was  never  talked  of,  for  the  ex- 
cellent reason  that,  as  every  one  of  us  hated  school  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  the  world,  so  expulsion  would  have  been  esteemed 
the  greatest  favor  they  could  have  bestowed  on  us.  It  is  very 
certain  that,  whatever  they  did  to  bring  us  back  to  reason,  they 
failed  to  effect  their  purpose. 

In  my  own  case,  I  must  confess  that  the  share  I  had  in  all  these 
excesses  was  very  disagreeable  to  my  good  patron;  who,  although 
immersed  in  the  cares  of  his  laborious  and  harassing  profession, 
was  yet  at  pains  to  watch  over  me  as  much  as  he  could,  to  admon- 
ish me  of  the  folly  and  wickedness  (for  so  he  called  it,)  of  my  be- 
havior, and,  pointing  out  the  peculiar  impropriety  and  heinousness 
of  it  in  my  case,  to  exhort  me  to  such  modesty  of  deportment 
and  devotion  to  my  studies  as  my  peculiar  situation  made  the 


ROBIN   DAY.  55 

more  imperatively  necessary.  Such  discourses  had  their  effect 
only  for  a  time;  for,  whatever  were  the  virtuous  resolutions  I 
framed,  and  the  promises  I  made  him,  I  was  sure,  so  easily  was  I 
led  away  by  the  example  and  incitements  of  my  schoolmates,  to  be 
as  bad,  in  a  week  or  two,  as  ever. 

This  incori  igibleness,  and  the  disappointment  of  the  hopes  he 
had  once  indulged  of  my  growing  up  worthy  of  his  care  and  af- 
fection, his  disgust  of  my  boisterous  conduct,  and  indignation  at 
my  folly,  gradually  undermined  me  in  his  regards;  and  the  aliena- 
tion was  the  more  rapid,  as  well  as  excusable,  because  he  had  now 
an  object  upon  whom  nature  impelled  him  to  lavish  all  his  richest 
affections. 

His  little  daughter  of  whom  I  have  spoken — her  name  was 
Nanna,  derived,  I  believe,  from  some  Swedish  ancestress  on  the 
maternal  side — as  one  whom,  from  her  infirm  constitution,  every 
body  almost  daily  expected  to  see  fall  into  the  tomb,  began,  about 
the  period  of  her  mother's  death,  to  exhibit  symptoms  of  returning 
health;  which  being  taken  immediate  advantage  of  by  her  skilful 
parent,  she  was  in  a  few  months,  to  his  own  inexpressible  joy  and 
the  amazement  of  every  one  else,  restored  to  complete  health.  The 
development  of  her  faculties,  her  rapid  advance  in  beauty,  grace, 
sweetness  of  disposition — in  everything  that  could  warm  the  heart, 
and  inflame  the  pride  of  a  doting  father,  were  indeed  surprising; 
and  at  the  time  of  which  I  speak — that  is  when  I  reached  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  verge  of  my  eighteenth  year — she  was  a  crea- 
ture, being  nearly  fifteen  years  old,  whom  no  one  could  look 
upon  without  interest  and  admiration.  She  was  the  loveliest  of 
creatures;  and  I,  who  had,  from  habit,  grown  to  regard  her  as,  and 
and  to  call  her,  a  sister,  was  as  proud  of  her  beauty  as  was  my  pa- 
tron, her  father  himself.  It  was  not,  therefore,  unnatural,  having  such 
a  being,  his  own  offspring,  to  love,  that  he  should  love  me  less;  and 
whatever  pain  I  felt  at  the  change  in  his  affections — for,  boy  as  I 
was,  I  perceived  there  teas  a  change — I  ceased  to  regret  it,  when  I 
thought  that  he  had  taken  from  me  only  to  bestow  on  Nanna. 
However,  I  do  not  intend  to  be  sentimental. 

It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  such  a  being,  with  whom 
my  daily  and  hourly  intercourse  was  that  of  a  brother,  should, 
sooner  or  later,  exercise  a  strong  and  happy  influence,  even  without 
knowing  it  herself,  over  both  my  manners  and  my  feelings;  and  it 
is  to  the  commencement  of  that  influence,  more  than  to  the  re- 


56  ADVENTURES    OF 

monstrances  of  my  patron,  that  I  date  the  first  improvement  in  both. 
So  true  it  is  that  the  silent,  and  even  unsuspected,  influence  of 
woman  sways  the  heart  more  strongly  to  virtue  and  manliness 
than  the  wisest  admonitions  of  sages. 

I  felt  this  influence  for  the  first  time,  when  rushing  into  the  before 
mentioned  battle  with  President  M'Goggin;  which,  indeed,  I  en- 
tered into  with  no  small  degree  of  reluctance;  though  as  M'Gog- 
gin  was  such  a  champion  as  I  had  never  before  broken  lance  with, 
I  cannot,  for  the  life  of  me,  say  whether  there  was  not  quite  as 
much  deterring  influence  of  another  kind — videlicet,  a  fear  of  the 
consequences.  But  that  battle  over,  I  am  very  certain,  I  began  to 
experience  the  unmixed  influence  of  Nanna  in  the  feelings  that 
followed;  for  I  was  ashamed  of  myself  for  having  got  such  a  flog- 
ging; whereas  I  never  remember  to  have  experienced  any  shame 
after  a  flogging  before,  the  whole  gist  of  the  grief,  in  such  cases, 
lying  only  in  the  pain  of  the  blows. 

And  I  felt  that  influence  still  more  strongly  in  a  desire  that  im- 
mediately seized  me  to  leave  the  school;  and  that,  not  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  escaping  similar  humiliations  for  the  future,  of 
which,  I  confess,  I  had  no  little  dread,  but  that  I  might  begin  a 
course  of  reform  and  amendment  in  my  life  and  manners,  which, 
I  had  a  vagae  notion,  I  could  not  so  easily  do,  while  remaining  a 
boy  at  school.  In  this  feeling,  I  took  advantage  of  a  lecture  my 
patron  gave  me  on  the  subject  of  this  last  and  greatest,  the  M'Gog- 
gin  battle,  to  assure  him  I  was  sorry  for  my  ill-deeds,  and  desirous 
to  live  a  new  life  more  in  consonance  with  his  wishes;  and  in  fine, 
begged  him,  as  that  was  a  necessary  preliminary,  to  take  me  from. 
M'Goggin's  hands  and  from  schoo.l 

To  this  he  consented;  and  then,  having  endeavored  to  impress 
upon  my  mind  a  sense  of  my  peculiar  situation,  as  one  which, 
(putting  his  own  kindness,  and  the  dependence  I  might  place  on 
it  out  of  the  question,)  should  make  a  youth  of  spirit  eager  to 
embrace  every  means  of  securing  his  own  independence  ;  and 
assuring  me  that  he  did  this,  not  by  way  of  hinting  an  intention 
of  withdrawing  his  protection,  which  he  should  continue  to  me, 
until  my  own  misconduct  rendered  it  impossible,  which  he  hoped, 
notwithstanding  all  that  had  passed,  should  never  be  the  case  : 
having  done  this,  I  say,  he  offered  to  my  choice  either  to  go  to 
college,  (after  having  spent  one  year  in  careful  preparation  at  some 
distant  and  secluded  school  ;)  which  having  passed  through,  he 


ROBIN   DAY.  57 

would  then  advise  with  me  as  to  my  future  course ;  or  to  enter  his 
office,  and  there,  while  striving  as  far  as  possible  by  my  own  dili- 
gent efforts,  to  repair  some  of  the  deficiencies  of  my  education, 
to  be  instructed  by  him,  by  and  by,  in  his  own  profession,  and  thus 
be  prepared  for  future  usefulness  in  the  world.  Either  of  these 
plans,  he  said,  I  was  free  to  adopt ;  and,  in  either,  he  would  give 
me  all  the  assistance  I  could  expect  from  a  parent  ;  but,  whichever 
might  be  my  choice,  he  would  expect  of  me  a  promise  of  such 
diligence  and  good  conduct  as  it  was  both  a  parent's  right  and 
•duty  to  expect. 

My  first  inclinations  were  very  clearly  in  favor  of  the  first 
named  proposal ;  for  I  thought,  from  what  I  had  often  heard,  there 
must  be  grand  fun  at  a  college  :  and,  in  fact,  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  solemn  admonitions  and  exhortations  upon  the  necessity  of 
soberness  and  diligence  which  my  benefactor  was  giving  me,  my 
imagination  was  most  easily  seduced  by  the  ideas  of  sport  and 
frolic.  To  the  college,  therefore,  I  felt  strongly  inclined ;  and  I 
was  about  to  say  so,  when  (and  I  know  not  why  such  a  considera- 
tion should  enter  my  brain)  I  was  struck  with  the  thought  that 
Nanna  would  not  be  there  ;  and  as  it  was  but  a  step  in  the  process 
of  association  to  remember  that  Nanna  would  be  where  I  was,  I 
immediately  resolved  upon  the  latter  proposal ;  at  which,  I 
thought  the  good  doctor  looked  a  little  gratified.  I  promised 
all  he  wished  as  to  diligence,  good  behavior,  &c.;  and  should 
have  promised  the  contrary,  or  any  thing  else,  just  as  easily. 
In  fact,  1  was  not  at  all  accustomed  to  trouble  myself  with  doing 
things  upon  reflection,  in  those  days. 

The  school  was  left,  and  in  two  or  three  days,  I  turned  man  ; 
that  is,  I  put  on  the  boots  and  neckcloth  as  aforesaid ;  astonished 
the  grammer  and  the  dictionary,  as  well  as  the  neighbors,  with  the 
elegance  of  my  phraseology  ;  and  should  have  been  happy  to 
comply  with  the  last  requisite  of  transformation,  and  trounce  all 
my  schoolmates  lor  calling  me  Sy  Tough,  instead  of  Mr.  Robin 
Day,  had  I  not  been  afraid — not  of  angering  my  patron,  for, 
really,  I  forgot  him  in  the  premises — but  of  grieving  the  gentle 
heart  of  Nanna  ;  who,  by  some  means  or  other,  became,  about 
this  time,  inextricably  involved  in  every  net  of  ratiocination  my 
brain  attempted  to  weave. 

There  was  but  one  regret  I  felt  at  leaving  the  school ;  which 
was,  that  I  was  in  debt  to  Mr.  M'Goggin  for  a  trouncing,  without 


58  ADVENTURES    OF 

the  means  of  making  payment  ;  and,  indeed,  I  hated  the  villain  so 
heartily  for  having  been  the  first  to  make  me  feel  ashamed  of  my- 
self, that  it  was  only  owing  to  the  secret  influence  and  oft  recur- 
ring thought  of  Nanna  that  I  did  not  obey  the  impulse  I  felt  to  pelt 
him  with  stones,  whenever  I  chanced  to  meet  him  in  the  street — 
especially  as  the  odious  wretch  never  passed  me,  without  the  in- 
sulting salutation — "  Good  morrow  till  ye,  ye  vagabone  :  ye'll 
come  to  the  gallows,  ye  divil  !  " 

I  wish  I  had  not  felt  so  vindictive,  as  it  would  have  saved  me  a 
deal  of  trouble,  and,  in  particular,  the  trouble  of  writing  my  ad- 
ventures ;  but  it  was  fated  I  should  have  satisfaction  of  President 
M'Goggin  for  all  his  injuries. 


BOBIN   DAY.  59 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  unconquerable  Dare  organizes  a  new  conspiracy,  and  the  ty* 
rant  is  at  last  stormed  in  his  citadel  and  overthrown. 

HAVING  got  the  mastery  of  the  schools,  M'Goggin,  the  most  in- 
veterate of  despots,  with  the  consent  and  approbation  of  the  Trus- 
tees and  townsfolk,  continued  to  exercise  his  authority  in  a  way 
that  was  designed  to  annihilate  eveiy  vestige  of  liberty,  and  make 
the  late  republicans  slaves  indeed.  From  their  own  accounts,  he 
flogged  every  soul  at  least  once  a  day,  some  of  them  twice  or 
thrice  ;  and  as  for  General  Dicky  Dare,  whose  dullness  at  learning 
still  kept  him  at  school,  and  whom  the  tyrant  chose  to  consider  the 
"  sowl  of  every  mischief,"  he,  from  his  own  representation,  got  a 
flogging  once  an  hour. 

But  Dicky's  soul  was  all  of  iron  ;  and,  like  that  noble  metal,  the 
more  it  was  hammered  the  harder  it  grew.  Besides,  the  country 
was  now  at  war  with  Great  Britain  ;  and  the  accounts  continually 
coming  to  his  ears  of  battles  lost  and  won,  of  deeds  of  valor  by 
sea  and  land,  on  the  yawning  billow  and  in  the  imminent  deadly 
breach,  had  kindled  his  martial  spark  anew  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
his  daily  drubbings,  he  was  more  of  a  soldier  than  ever,  full  of 
plots,  and  stratagems,  and  treasons.  He  bore  his  own  pangs  with 
heroic  patience,  being  engaged,  all  the  while,  meditating  a  capa- 
ble and  wide  revenge  ;  and  the  pangs  of  his  schoolmates  he  beheld 
even  with  satisfaction  ;  for,  as  he  said  to  me,  his  friend  and  confi- 
dant, like  a  statesman  and  patriot, — "  Though  they  are  a  pack  of 
cowards,  you  can  even  thump  cowards  into  bravery,  by  Julius 
Caesar  ;  and  by  and  by,  Bully  M'Goggin,"  ( which  was  his  honor- 
able title  in  private,)  "  will  trounce  them  up  to  the  sticking  point." 

In  this,  General  Dare  prophesied  aright  ;  for  in  six  months' 
time,  M'Goggin's  cruelty  had  driven  the  boys  into  such  a  frenzy 
of  desperation  and  hatred,  that  there  was  not  one  of  them  who 
would  not  have  murdered  him  in  cold  blood — provided  any  one 
should  have  shown  them  how,  and  made  them,  as  they  called  it, 


60  ADVENTURES    OF 

free  of  the  hangman.  This  pitch  of  fury  was  what  General  Dicky 
meant  by  his  elegant  expression,  "  the  sticking  point  ; "  and  the 
moment  they  reached  it,  he  invited  them,  now  ready  for  any  ex- 
tremity, to  join  him  in  the  execution  of  a  plan  of  revenge  he  had 
long  digested,  and  which  may  be  considered  a  monument  at  once 
of  his  genius  and  his  wrath.  And  in  this  great  design,  for  my 
sins,  Dicky  invited  me  to  join  him,  drawing,  in  such  agreeable 
colors — alas,  I  had  drawn  it  a  thousand  times  before — such  a 
ravishing  picture  of  the  bliss  I  must  enjoy  in  paying  M'Goggin 
all  his  dues,  that  even  N  anna's  image,  though  it  fluttered  through 
my  head  as  often  and  as  sweetly  as  ever,  could  not  entirely  banish 
it  from  my  thoughts.  Nevertheless,  I  had  the  grace  to  refuse  as- 
sisting in  the  scheme,  and  to  repeat  the  refusal  over  and  over  again, 

until  the  moment  for  executing  it  had  come  ;    and  then But 

after  all,  I  went  only  to  enjoy  the  scene  as  a  spectator  ;  which  is, 
however,  the  way  in  which  many  other  persons  go  into  a  squab- 
ble. 

The  day  wbich  was  to  witness  this  grand  proof  of  a  school's  re- 
venge, and  of  Dicky  Dare's  genius  and  resolution,  was  at  the  close 
of  April,  and  the  year,  1813  ;  a  period  rendered  the  more  aus- 
picious to  the  design  by  the  ferment  into  which  the  people  of  the 
Middle  States  were  thrown  by  the  visitations  of  sundry  British 
fleets  to  their  waters  ;  Admiral  Cockburn  being  at  that  moment 
employed  with  all  his  forces  in  the  Chesapeake,  robbing  farmers' 
henroosts,  and  Admiral  Beresford  attempting  the  same  thing, 
thougli  with  no  great  luck,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware.  The 
news  of  these  gallant  forays  had  just  reached  our  town,  which 
was  kept  in  a  furious  commotion  by  the  passage  through  it  of 
sailors  and  soldiers  on  their  way  to  the  scene  of  action  ;  and  still 
more  by  the  patriotic  efforts  of  its  citizens,  who,  having  no  better 
way  to  show  their  zeal,  mustered  three  or  four  companies  of  vol- 
unteers, who  killed  the  British  without  stirring  from  home,  and 
kept  the  town  in  a  terrible  tumult,  day  and  night — but  particularly 
at  night — by  firing  off  cannons,  and  sometimes  their  heads  and 
arms  ;  while  the  juniors  and  rabblement  at  large  imitated  them, 
as  far  as  they  could,  by  burning  tar-barrels,  firing  fifty-sixes — that 
is,  not  fifty-six  pound  cannons,  but  fifty-six  pound  weights — well 
rammed  with  gunpowder,  and  blowing  their  eyes  out  with  squibs 
and  popguns.  Nothing  could  be  more  favorable  to  the  scheme 
of  revenge  than  the  nightly  recurrence  of  these  disorders  ;  and 


KOB1N    DAY.  61 

this  the  great  contriver  and  conspirator,  Dicky,  knew  full  well. 
Arid,  fortunately,  the  hubbub  on  the  night  in  question  was  even 
greater  than  usual. 

M'Goggin's  house,  which,  I  mentioned,  was  near  the  Academy, 
was  in  a  sequestered  part  of  the  town,  there  being  but  few  other 
dwellings,  and  those  of  the  meanest  order,  near.  It  was  built  on 
a  large  lot,  in  which  M'Goggin  had  established  a  kitchen  garden, 
well  stored  with  potatoes  ;  and  there  was  an  attempt  at  flowers 
and  fruit  trees  near  the  house,  which  stood  a  little  back  from  the 
street,  and  was  a  small  and  very  old  and  ugly  cottage-looking 
building.  Immediately  before  the  door  was  a  clump  of  four  Lom- 
bardy  poplars,  ancient  and  decaying,  that  stood,  in  a  square,  two 
on  each  side  of  the  path,  and  had  been  taken  advantage  of  by 
some  romantic  dweller  of  former  days  to  construct  a  kind  of  rude 
alcove,  by  nailing  strips  of  board  on  the  sides,  and  throwing  a  few 
beams  across,  by  way  of  roof  ;  which,  in  Summer,  was  usually 
shaded  by  vines  of  gourds  and  squashes.  At  the  gate,  immedi- 
ately in  advance  of  the  poplars,  was  a  locust  tree.  On  the  right 
hand  was  a  cowhouse,  and,  on  the  left,  a  pig  pen  ;  and,  on  the 
whole,  the  cottage  was  quite  romantic  enough  looking  for  Mr. 
M'Goggin. 

The  happy  individuals  who,  with  Mr.  M'Goggin,  shared  this 
peaceful  abode,  were  an  old  negro  man,  whom  he  worked  half  to 
death  among  his  potatoes,  and  an  ill-favored  woman  that  he  called 
his  wife,  but  whom  every  one  else  considered  his  slave,  as  he  was 
said  to  be  very  savage  to  her,  and  to  make  as  great  a  drudge  of 
her  as  the  negro.  Indeed,  the  boys  had  a  story  that  he  sometimes 
beat  her  ;  but,  though  many  believed  it,  no  one  knew  this  for  cer- 
tain. He  had,  besides,  a  great  bulldog,  which  he  starved,  to  make 
him  ferocious,  and  therefore  the  better  guard  over  his  potatoes. 

The  removal  of  this  dangerous  ally  of  the  tyrant  we  considered 
a  necessary  preliminary  to  the  attack  on  the  master  ;  and  this 
Dicky  effected,  the  night  preceding  the  explosion,  by  training  him 
off  with  a  piece  of  meat  tied  to  a  string,  until  he  had  thrust  his 
neck  into  a  noose  ;  by  means  of  which  he  was  dragged  to  a  horse- 
pond,  and  there  drowned,  amid  the  rejoicings  of  the  whole  band  of 
conspirators.  This  being  done,  the  youthful  general,  upon  whose 
shoulders  fell  the  execution  of  every  task  that  had*  the  incon- 
venience of  being  attended  with  danger,  climbed  up  the  locust 
tree  at  the  gate,  and  with  a  saw,  cut  out  two  small  notches,  which 


62  ADVENTURES    OP 

he  then  plastered  over  with  clay,  to  prevent  their  being  seen  next 
day.  The  object  of  this  manoeuvre,  which  concluded  all  the  pre- 
parations required,  will  be  presently  seen. 

It  was  not  till  after  ten  o'clock  on  the  following  night  that  the 
conspirators  assembled  on  the  scene  of  action,  prepared  to  carry 
their  vengeful  plot  into  full  execution.  They  came  marvelously 
well  provided  with  ammunition — that  is,  with  pebbles  and  brick- 
bats, and  some,  I  fear,  with  more  dangerous  weapons.  The  peb- 
bles and  brickbats  were  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  younger  boys, 
whom  General  Dicky,  having  long  and  laboriously  drilled  them 
for  the  enterprise,  now  proceeded  to  station  so  as  to  surround  the 
house,  and  particularly  to  command  the  front  and  back  doors. 
There  was  a  troop  of  older  boys  armed  with  fireballs  (the  General 
called  then  grenades,)  made  of  oakum  dipped  in  turpentine,  which 
they  were  ready,  by  means  of  lighted  cigars  and  a  little  gun- 
powder, to  kindle  at  any  moment.  These  the  General  called  the 
Invincible  Grenadiers,  and  stationed,  like  the  others,  both  in  front 
and  on  the  rear  of  the  building,  but  much  nearer  than  the  brick- 
bat guards  ;  and,  besides  his  grenade,  each  of  these  desperadoes 
had  a  good  stout  crabtree,  by  way  of  sidearms. 

These  arrangements  having  been  effected,  and  all  in  deep  silence, 
the  General,  who  had  previously  spied  a  little  into  the  state  of  the 
premises,  made  a  second  reconniossance,  prior  to  entering  upon 
the  last  and  grandest  of  his  dispositions.  And  here  I  may  ob- 
serve that  all  these  things  were  done  with  but  little  fear  of  alarm- 
ing the  enemy  ;  for  besides  the  hubbub  kept  up  in  town  by  the 
volunteers  and  patriotic  citizens,  there  was  a  gale  of  wind  blow- 
ing, and  making  a  great  rustling  and  howling  among  the  trees  and 
chimneys.  Accordingly,  General  Dare  had  no  difficulty  in  making 
his  way  to  a  window,  and  through  a  cranny  spying  into  the  pro- 
ceedings within  ;  which  proceedings  some  of  us,  who  had  from 
curiosity  crept  nearer  to  the  house,  judged  to  be  uncommonly  in- 
teresting, as  we  could  hear  an  occasional  murmur  of  voices,  a 
mingling,  as  it  seemed,  of  growling  and  lamenting,  which  we 
knew  not  how  to  account  for.  The  mystery  was  soon  unraveled 
by  General  Dicky  Dare,  who  crept  back,  and  declared,  to  our  as* 
tonishment  and  indignation,  that  President  M'Goggin  was  beating 
his  wife — that  he  had  seen  him  strike  her  with  his  hand — that  he  was 
drunk  or  mad,  he  knew  not  which — and  that  the  poor  woman,  who 
was  in  a  great  fright,  was  crying  and  begging  him  not  to  abuse  her. 


ROBIN    DAY.  63 


This  intelligence,  as  may  be  supposed,  produced  a  strong  effect 
upon  the  feelings  of  the  conspirators,  who  were  not  without  gener- 
ous and  chivalrous  sentiments  ;  and  they  swore,  one  and  all,  they 
would  have  satisfaction  of  the  ruffian  for  his  brutality  to  the 
woman,  as  well  as  for  the  injuries  he  had  done  themselves.  And 
this  discovery,  I  may  also  say,  wrought  an  immediate  change  in 
my  own  resolutions  ;  for  whereas  I  had,  up  to  this  moment,  reli- 
giously persisted  in  the  determination  I  had  made  not  to  take  part 
in  the  affray,  I  was  now  so  operated  upon  by  indignation  at 
M'Goggin's  brutishness,  that  I  fell  to  work  with  zeal,  anxious  to 
avenge  the  poor  woman's  wrongs  ;  and  was,  from  that  moment  to 
the  end,  a  very  prominent  ringleader  in  the  whole  row. 

The  gallant  Dare,  now  doubly  excited  to  diligence,  produced  a 
long  rope,  having  a  running  noose  at  the  end.  This  he  threw  over 
the°roofof  the  arbor,  and  then  laid  the  noose  across  the  path, 
supporting  it  on  little  sticks  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  impossible 
any  one  should  pass  along  the  walk,  without  striking  it  with  his 
foot  ;  and  the  noose  was  made  so  large  that  it  not  only  stretched 
over  the  whole  path,  but  would  admit  a  man  to  pass  through  it, 
standing  erect.  Near  the  other  extremity  of  the  rope,  was  tied 
by  one  end  a  stout  bar  of  wood,  in  which  was  a  notch,  meant  to 
receive  one  end  of  a  second  bar  that  was  loose  ;  while  its  other 
end,  as  well  as  the  end  of  the  bar  that  was  tied,  was  designed  to 
be  placed  each  in  one  of  the  notches  sawn  in  the  locust  tree  the 
preceding  evening,  at  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground  ;  the  whole  forming  a  kind  of  trap  which  would  support  a 
great  weight  at  the  end  of  the  rope,  until  something  should  jerk 
£b the  noose;  in  which  case  the 'loose  bar  that  served  as  a  prop, 
must  be  dislodged,  the  trap  sprung,  and  the  weight  instantly  fall  to 
the  ground,  dragging  the  noose  up  to  the  top  of  the  arbor,  and 
with  it  Mr.  M'Goggin,  for  whose  sole  benefit  this  beautiful  con- 
trivance was  invented  by  General  Dicky. 

And  supposing  we  once  had  the  tyrant  in  the  toils,  there  was 
then  little  fear  but  that  we  should  be  able  to  work  our  will  with 
him  at  our  leisure.  The  trap  being  set,  the  rope  was  weighted  by 
some  half  a  dozen  fifty-sixes,  which  were  passed  up  the  tree,  and 
suspended  by  Dicky's  own  hands.  We  had  previously  thrown  on 
the  ground,  under  the  noose,  a  quantity  of  straw,  sprinkled  with 
turpentine  and  sawdust,  which  we  designed  to  fire  the  moment 
our  tiger  was  caught,  and  so  give  him  the  benefit  of  a  moderate 


64  ADVENTURES    OF 

roasting  and  smoking,  as  an  introduction  to  what  was  to  follow. 

It  will  be  perceived  that,  in  laying  this  ingenious  trap  for 
M'Goggin,  the  great  contriver  did  not  anticipate  the  possibility  of 
any  one  else  falling  into  it.  There  was  good  reason,  indeed,  why 
no  one  else  should  ;  for  the  negro  being  a  very  cowardly  old  fel- 
low, (who  would,  moreover,  in  all  probability  be  sound  asleep  in 
his  garret,)  and  Mrs.  M'Goggin,  a  weak,  timid  woman,  it  was  in- 
ferred our  assault  would  only  confine  them  more  closely  to  the 
house  ;  while  M'Goggin,  being  quite  fearless,  would  undoubtedly 
make  a  rush  upon  us.  The  result  proved  that  the  calculations 
even  of  Dicky  Dare  might  be  defeated,  like  those  of  any  other 
great  military  genius. 

Our  arrangements  being  at  length  all  completed,  the  signal  for 
assault  was  given,  and  at  a  period,  as  it  proved,  extremely  critical 
for  Mrs.  M'Goggin  ;  for,  just  as  the  word  was  passing  round, 
"All  ready  !"  we  heard  her  utter  a  dismal  shriek,  as  if  the  ruffian, 
her  lord  and  master,  was  again  asserting  his  supremacy.  We 
uttered  three  tremendous  cheers  ;  and  then,  following  them  up 
with  yells  of  "  Down  with  the  tyrant  !  and  schoolboys'  rights 
forever  !"  let  fly  a  terrible  volley  of  brickbats  and  grenades,  by 
which  the  shutters  of  the  lower  windows  and  the  glasses  in  the 
upper  ones  were  dashed  to  atoms  ;  and  some  half  dozen  of  the 
latter  missiles,  the  fireballs,  entering  the  upper  rooms,  the  house 
was  straightway  illuminated,  as  if  on  fire,  and  filled  with  smoke. 

The  effect  of  this  furious  cannonade  was  immediately  made 
manifest  by  a  medley  of  cries,  ejaculations,  and  roaring  curses 
from  within,  the  woman  squeaking,  the  negro  yelling,  and 
M'Goggin  vociferating  I  know  not  what,  but,  I  believe,  maledic- 
tions on  the  heads  of  himself,  us  — "  the  divil-born  school- 
whelps," — and  everybody  else  ;  and  the  woman,  in  an  ecstacy  of 
terror,  was  immediately  seen  darting  through  one  of  the  back 
windows,  which  had  been  dashed  open ;  whence  she  fled  shrieking 
away,  no  one  offering  her  molestation,  but  on  the  contrary, 
making  passage  for  her,  glad  to  have  her  out  of  the  way.  At 
the  same  moment,  the  front  door  was  opened  with  a  crash,  and 
out  came  rushing,  in  his  night-gear,  mad  with  fright — not  the 
autocrat  M'Goggin,  as  we  fondly  hoped,  but  the  negro  man  ;  who 
running  blindly  forwards,  stumbled  against  the  noose,  and  was, 
in  a  twinkling,  jerked  up  to  the  top  of  the  arbor,  where  he  was 
seen  hanging  by  one  leg,  such  an  extraordinary  picture  of  amuze- 


ROBIN    DAY.  65- 

merit  and  terror  as  was  never  before  witnessed,  and  such  a  target 
for'  our  fireballs,  (for  a  volley  was  thrown  before  we  had  time  to 
remark  what  kind  of  game  we  had  caught,)  as  schoolboys  never 
before  enjoyed. 

The  melo-dramatic  character  of  the  spectacle  was,  in  the  same 
instant,  wonderfully  heightened,  and  its  interest  to  us  increased 
to  the  highest  pitch,  by  an  incident  that  immediately  befel  ;  for 
M'Goggin,  who  was  close  at  the  negro's  heels,  armed  too,  as  we 
discovered  to  our  horror,  with  a  gun,  with  which  he  rushed  for- 
ward in  the  act  of  firing,  having  come  within  reach  of  the 
suspended  negro,  was  seized  upon  by  this  distracted  personage, 
who  had  been  clawing  the  air  in  vain,  and  now  succeeded  in  fasten- 
ing one  hand  amid  the  master's  locks,  while  the  other,  or  the 
fingers  thereof,  got  by  mischance  into  his  mouth.  This  accident 
so  discomposed  the  nerves  of  the  despot,  who,  I  fancy,  must  have 
thought  himself  pounced  upon  by  some  incarnate  devil,  darting 
upon  him  from  the  air,  that  he  uttered  a  wild  howl,  dropped  his 
gun,  which  went  off  in  falling  ;  and  then,  forgetting  us,  fell  foul 
of  the  negro,  whom  he  cuffed  with  maniacal  energy,  being  himself 
haled,  scratched  and  hugged  by  this  flying  demon  in  a  style  just 
as  eager  and  extraordinary. 

"  Bang  away  !"  roared  Dicky  Dare,  firing  the  bundle  of  straw, 
which  instantly  burst  into  flames  and  smoke  around  the  two  victims, 
both  of  Avhom  were  now  suspended  ;  for  some  of  the  besiegers 
had  seized  upon  the  rope  and  hauled  away  so  furiously  that,  in  a 
trice,  M'Goggin  lost  his  footing  on  the  ground,  and  was  dragged 
by  the  inveterate  negro  into  the  air,  where  they  continued  to  wage 
a  battle  which  could  only  be  compared  to  the  aerial  fray  of  the 
Genii  and  the  Lady  of  Beauty  in  the  Arabian  story,  while  all  the 
time  there  was  such  a  shower  of  fireballs  raining  against  their 
bodies,  and  such  volumes  of  flame  and  smoke  ascending  from  the 
burning  straw,  as  to  render  the  spectacle  grand,  ludicrous  and 
horrible  altogether — in  short,  it  was  quite  indescribable. 

And  now,  while  these  strange  combatants  were  pursuing  their 
strange  fight — the  negro  pulling  at  his  adversary's  hair  and  yelling 
with  the  pain  of  his  fingers,  which  M'Goggin  was  grinding  be- 
twixt his  teeth  ;  M'Goggin,  on  his  part,  biting  and  cuffing'  and 
growling  and  kicking  the  air — there  arose  a  cry  that  one  of  the 
boys  was  shot,  struck  by  a  bullet  from  M'Goggin's  gun,  and  that 
he  was  dying — intelligence  that  afterwards  proved  to  be  false,  but 


66  ADVENTURES     OF 

which,  exasperating  feelings  that  were  already  rancorous  enough, 
was  followed  by  furious  calls  to  "  Kill  the  murdering  villain  !"  and 
by  a  rush  that  many  made  upon  him  with  their  clubs,  with  which 
they  furiously  beat  him  until  the  rope,  frayed  and  worn  by  the 
rough  bark  of  the  locust,  suddenly  gave  way,  bringing  him  and 
the  negro,  with  a  most  terrible  plump,  to  the  ground. 

The  negro,  who  fell  uppermost,  and  had,  besides,  the  good  for- 
tune to  fall  upon  his  head,  which  was  not  composed  of  trilling 
materials,  rolled  from  his  master  and  from  the  embers  of  the 
straw,  into  which  they  had  fallen  together,  kicked  his  leg  free 
from  the  noose,  and  then  ran  limping  off,  yelling  like  a  madman. 
As  for  M'Goggin,  upon  whom  we  rushed,  now  certain  of  our  prey, 
he  lay  without  motion,  and  a  bright  blaze  from  the  house  now  fall- 
ing on  his  visage,  there  was  straightway  a  cry  that  we  had  killed 
him.  "  He's  done  for  !"  said  General  Dare,  with  much  composure, 
being  the  only  one  that  was  not  horrified  at  this  result  of  our  en- 
terprise— "  He's  done  for,  by  Julius  Caesar  !  And  so  is  the  house, 
too,  or  there's  no  snakes  in  Virginnie  !" 

It  was  even  so.  The  cottage,  which  we  had  been  for  the  last 
few  moments  too  busy  to  look  at  or  think  of,  we  now  discovered 
was  on  fire,  flames  already  gushing  out  of  the  upper  windows,  and 
the  alarm  fast  passing  tnrough  the  town  and  bringing  crowds  of 
people  to  the  scene  of  our  triumph. 

"  Right  about  face — cut  dirt !"  cried  General  Dare,  and  in  a 
moment  we  were  scampering  from  the  field  of  battle  in  all  direc- 
tions, terrified  at  the  thought  of  what  we  had  done,  and  still  more 
at  the  fear  of  what  might  be  the  consequences. 


KOBIN   DAY.  67 


CHAPTER   XI. 

In  which  Robin  Day^  flying  the  terrors  of  the  law,  is  sent  out  into 
the  world  to  seek  his  fortune. 

FOR  my  own  part,  I  was  in  such  a  horror  of  fright  at  the  idea  of 
having  committed  what  I  now  felt  was  nothing  short  of  a  murder, 
that  I  betook  myself  to  the  fields,  running  as  if  the  hue  and  cry, 
the  posse  comitatus,  constable,  hangman  and  all,  were  after  me  ; 
and  it  was  not  until  I  had  plumped  over  head  and  ears  into  a  ditch, 
whereby  the  ferment  of  my  mind  was  somewhat  allayed,  that  I 
recovered  enought  of  my  wits  to  consider  what  I  was  about.  I  then 
reflected,  that  it  was  by  no  means  certain  M'Goggin  was  actually 
dead,  although,  to  be  sure,  he  had  looked  marvellously  like  a  sub- 
ject for  the  undertaker,  his  face  being  bloody,  and  of  a  cadaverous 
hue.  I  remembered,  too,  that  he  had  fallen  from  the  rope  with  suffi- 
cient force  to  stun  him  for  awhile;  and  moreover,  that  the  negro  man 
had  tumbled  upon  him,  and  so  must  have  beaten  the  breath  out 
of  his  body ;  and,  hence,  it  was  not  improbable,  he  had  been  only 
in  a  swoon,  from  which  he  might  have  revived  already.  In  short, 
I  satisfied  myself  that  I  was  a  great  simpleton  for  being  so  much 
frightened,  and  that  the  wisest  thing  I  could  do  would  be  to  creep 
away  to  my  comfortable  home,  without  any  further  thought  of 
leaving  it,  until  assured  I  had  really  got  myself  into  trouble. 

Home,  accordingly,  shivering  with  wet  and  anxiety;  and  finding 
the  door  open,  though  no  one  was  stirring,  I  sneaked  away  to  my 
chamber,  where  I  slipped  off  my  wet  clothes,  and  was  about  slink- 
ing quietly  into  bed,  when  the  motion  was  arrested  by  the  sudden 
and  unexpected  entrance  of  my  patron.  His  countenance,  which 
was  pale  and  disordered,  filled  me  with  alarm,  and  this  he  proceeded 
to  heighten  into  the  wildest  consternation  by  exclaiming — 
"  Wretched  boy,  you  have  killed  a  man  !  Up  and  away :  you 
must  fly,  or  be  seized,  tried,  and  perhaps  hanged,  as  a  murderer!" 

I  leaped  up,  it  may  be  supposed,  quickly  enough,  and  attempted 
to  give  utterance  to  excuses  and  explanations,  that  were  none  of 


68  ADVENTURES    OF 

the  calmest  or  most  coherent;  but  Dr.  Howard  checked  me:  assur- 
ing me,  in  an  agitated  and  hurried  voice,  that  I  had  no  time  to 
lose,  that  he  had  seen  M'Goggin,  who  was  dying  of  his  injuries — 
of  concussion,  or  compression,  of  the  brain,  I  knew  not  which — 
that  he  had  learned  I  was  one  of  the  ringleaders  in  the  affray;  that 
some  of  the  citizens  had  gone  for  warrants  to  apprehend  me,  as 
well  as  others,  my  companions;  that  he  had  left  the  dying  man,  un- 
der pretence  of  getting  his  trephining  instruments,  but  in  reality 
to  find  me,  and  send  me  off.  before  it  was  too  late;  and  he  ended 
by  mingling  upbraidings  of  my  folly  and  wickedness,  with  injunc- 
tions to  put  on  my  clothes,  and  pack  up  a  change  of  linen  in  the 
saddle-bags,  which  he  had  brought  with  him  into  the  room,  as  I 
must  mount  horse  and  be  gone  immediately. 

I  stood  aghast;  for  the  sentence  of  banishment  from  his  house 
was  more  dreadful  to  my  feelings  than  my  fears  had  been;  and  in 
my  confusion,  I  uttered,  I  knew  not  why,  the  name  of  Nanna.  He 
loooked  discomposed,  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  and  he  exclaimed 
with  mingled  grief  and  bitternses — "  Ah,  wretch,  you  have  lost  her, 
too:  you  knew  not  what  I  designed  for  you!"  Then,  suddenly 
changing  to  anger,  he  bade  me  not  name  her  again ;  and  calling  me 
madman,  murderer,  houseburner,  and  I  knew  not  what  besides,  he 
ended  by  ordering  me  again  to  dress  and  be  ready;  and  then 
left  me. 

I  did  as  he  bade  me,  slipped  on  my  best  coat,  stuffed  the  saddle- 
bags with  clothes,  with  which  his  generosity  had  always  supplied 
me  even  to  extravagance  and  excess  ;  and,  though  I  did  all  in  ex- 
treme agitation  of  spirits,  I  had  finished  before  he  returned,  which 
he  presently  did,  bearing  a  letter  and  pocket-book,  both  of  which 
he  put  into  my  hands,  saying  that  I  must  proceed  to  Philadelphia, 
and  deliver  the  letter  to  the  gentleman  to  whom  it  was  directed, 
who  would  assist  to  put  me  out  of  the  way  of  danger,  at  least  for 
a  time. 

"  He  is  my  distant  kinsman — a  merchant — and  has  a  privateer 
which  he  is  about  sending  to  sea  :  he  will  give  you  a  berth  in  her, 
and  you  will  then  be  free  to  follow  your  bent,  and  cut  throats  to 
your  liking." 

This  he  said  with  such  bitterness  of  sarcasm,  that  it  overcame 
my  spirits,  and  I  could  not  avoid  shedding  tears  ;  which  seemed 
to  soften  him,  and  he  then  spoke  more  gently. 

"  It  is  the  last  life  I  should  ever  have  desired  for  you,"  he  said, 


ROBIN    DAY.  69 

*'  for  it  is  little  better  than  f reebooting — piracy  legalized.  But  it 
cannot  be  helped  :  the  emergency  is  too  sudden  for  choice  ;  there 
is  no  alternative.  The  letter  contains  money  :  it  will  help  to  fit 
you  out  :  Mr.  Bloodmoney,"  (the  merchant  to  whom  the  letter 
was  directed),  "will  supply  you  what  more  is  needed.  The  pock- 
et-book will  keep  you  on  the  road.  You  must  ride  all  night  I 
have  ordered  you  Bay  Tom — he  will  carry  you  to  the  city  :  but 
should  he  fail,  leave  him  on  the  road,  and  hire  another.  You 
must  be  in  Philadelphia  to-morrow." 

By  this  time  we  could  hear  a  trampling  at  the  stable,  which  was 
not  far  off ;  and  my  patron,  saying  all  was  ready,  ordered  me  to  follow 
him  ;  but  immediately  bade  me  hold,  while  he  ran  to  his  study, 
from  which  he  returned  with  a  memorial  of  the  wreck — the  only 
one  he  could  ever  obtain — which  he  had  lighted  on,  at  his  last  visit 
to  the  coast,  and  bought  for  a  trifle  of  old  Mother  Moll,  the  first 
of  my  persecutors.  This  was  a  memento  of  whose  existence  I  had 
long  been  aware,  though  I  never  attached  any  importance  to  it,  as 
my  patron  was  sometimes  inclined  to  do  ;  for,  in  truth,  I  cared 
nothing  for  my  origin,  and  was  too  well  content  with  the  protec- 
tion, and,  as  I  might  have  called  it,  the  parentage  of  the  good  doc- 
tor, to  wish  to  exchange  it  for  another's,  even  a  father's.  There 
was,  in  fact,  in  the  relic  nothing  very  striking  or  interesting.  It 
was  a  string  of  beads  of  different  sizes,  of  some  black  wood,  I 
know  not  what,  but  they  were  polished,  and  had  a  fragrant  odor  : 
and  there  was  a  central  one,  in  shape  somewhat  of  a  cross,  of  con- 
siderable size,  with  grotesque  carvings,  that  served  as  a  sort  of 
locket  to  connect  the  two  ends  of  the  string.  It  was,  I  always 
thought,  just  such  a  poor  trifling  gewgaw  as  any  common  woman, 
a  sailor's  wife,  might  wear,  and  I  was  the  more  impressed  that  it 
had  belonged  to  some  such  personage,  as  there  was  roughly 
scratched,  as  with  a  jack-knife,  on  the  back  of  the  locket,  the  name, 
as  far  as  we  could  make  it  out,  of  Sally  Ann,  which  had  decidedly 
the  smack  of  a  tar's  delight  about  it.  This,  to  be  sure,  Dr.  How- 
ard agreed  was  likely  enough  ;  but  the  poor  sailor's  wife  might 
have  been  my  mother  notwithstanding.  But  what  chiefly  ren- 
dered the  trinket  of  importance  in  his  regard,  was  that  Don  Pe- 
dro, the  Spanish  negro,  our  cook,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and  who 
was  a  mighty  good  Catholic,  and  had  an  uncommon  share  of  in- 
telligence for  his  degree,  declared  it  was  nothing  less  than  a  Cath- 
•olic  rosary,  as  he  knew  by  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the 


70  ADVENTURES  OP 

beads  ;  and  in  fact,  having  put  it  into  his  hands,  he  began  to  tell 
the  beads,  and,  as  he  did  so,  to  jabber  out  a  string  of  Ave-Marias 
and  Pater-Nosters  with  great  readiness  and  fluency  ;  only  that  he 
made  such  a  hotch-potch  of  the  matter  as  neither  himself  nor  any 
one  else  could  make  sense  of.  This,  my  patron  averred,  was  a  cu- 
rious circumstance  ;  as  a  Catholic  child  in  a  Yankee  schooner  (it 
seems  Mother  Moll  had  admitted  she  had  taken  the  beads  from 
my  neck,  and  Dr.  Howard  was  convinced  the  wreck  had  been  a 
trading  vessel  from  New  England),  was  certainly  something  out 
of  the  usual  coarse  of  things  ;  and  he  therefore  resolved  to  treas- 
ure the  beads  up,  hoping  that  they  might  be  the  means  some  day 
of  leading  to  the  most  interesting  discoveries. 

This  string  of  beads,  or  rosary,  or  whatever  it  might  be,  he  now 
put  into  my  hands,  bidding  me  preserve  it  with  religious  care,  nay, 
even  to  wear  it  around  my  neck,  for  fear  of  accidents,  as  it  might 
conduct  me  perhaps  to  the  arms  of  my  parents  ;  "  of  whom,"  he 
added,  with  some  emotion,  "  you  have  now  greater  need  than 
ever,  having  thrown  away ."  But  here  he  interrupted  him- 
self, and  bade  me  follow  him  ;  which  I  did,  until  we  had  come  to 
the  stable  ;  where  we  found  his  horse  Bay  Tom,  an  animal  that  he 
greatly  valued,  standing  at  the  door  ready  saddled,  and  with  him 
old  Don  Pedro  himself,  who  had  long  professed  a  great  friendship 
for  me,  and  from  whom,  indeed,  in  the  course  of  the  last  five  years, 
I  had  gradually  picked  up  some  little  knowledge  of  the  Spanish 
tongue,  which  afterwards  stood  me  in  good  stead. 

"  Mount,  and  ride  for  your  life,"  said  my  benefactor,  with  a  stern 
voice,  yet  wringing  my  hand  with  a  painful  earnestness ; 
"n^ount,"  he  cried,  "and  heaven  forgive  you  this  fatal  deed,  and 
go  with  you." 

Don  Pedro,  also,  having  helped  me  into  the  saddle,  gave  me  a 
farewell  shake,  and  blubbered,  in  his  own  tongue — "  'Adios,  mi 
nino  j — adieu,  my  child  ;  at  last,  you  are  going  to  the  devil  :  an  as- 
surance which  was  by  no  means  so  pleasant  as  it  seemed  true. 

This  done  and  said,  Pedro  opened  a  gate  leading  into  the  high- 
way, (the  doctor's  house  being  seated  on  the  borders  of  the  town), 
that  I  might  ride  through.  But  I  faltered  a  moment,  to  look  back 
to  the  house,  in  which,  notwithstanding  the  folly  and  violence  of 
my  career,  I  had  lived  so  many  happy  hours  of  my  youth.  There 
was  a  light  burning  in  Nanna's  chamber,  who  was  as  yet  unac- 
quainted with  the  miserable  adventures  of  the  night.  As  I  looked 


ROBIN   DAY.  .  71 

up,  the  light  was  suddenly  put  out ;  and  the  darkness  that  ensued 
smote  upon  my  heart  as  a  mournful  omen. 

"  Why  do  you  pause  ?"  muttered  my  patron  with  impatience. 
"  Begone  ;  your  life  depends  upon  your  speed." 

Thus  commanded,  I  turned  my  horse  through  the  gate,  gave 
him  the  rein  and  spur,  and  in  a  moment  was  out  of  the  town,  fly- 
ing all  the  more  fleetly  for  the  din,  the  cries  and  shouts  that  still 
prevailed  ;  and  which,  as  the  blast  brought  them  to  my  ears,  my 
fancy  converted  into  the  halloos  of  vengeful  pursuers. 


72  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Robin  Day   meets  an  alarming  adventure,  and  stumbles  upon  a 
companion  in  misfortune. 

And  now  behold  me  upon  the  world  alone,  a  hero  of  eighteen, 
with  just  such  qualifications  for  making  my  way  through  the  stormy 
paths  of  life  as  one  might  expect  in  a  cockboat  for  performing 
a  voyage  round  Cape  Horn. 

It  is  true,  I  entertained — or  had  done  so,  until  the  affairs  of  the 
night  had  frightened  it  out  of  me — the  best  possible  opinion  of 
my  own  merits  and  abilities  ;  and  such  complacent  self-regard,  it 
is  conceded  on  all  sides,  is  the  best  foundation  and  prognostic  of 
worldly  success.  I  had  trounced  all  my  schoolmates,  (General 
Dicky  Dare,  my  friend  and  confederate,  though  my  rival,  only 
excepted  ;)  and  it  was  but  a  natural  consequence  that  I  should 
suppose  myself  able  in  like  manner  to  conquer  all  mankind  ;  and 
the  share  I  had  had  in  demolishing  the  power  and  pretensions  of 
the  tyrants  of  the  academy,  had  convinced  me  I  possessed  the  same 
ability  to  resist  the  oppressions  of  the  great  men  of  the  world,  the 
kings  and  presidents  ;  of  whom  I  entertained  a  very  mean  opin- 
ion, believing  they  were  only  Burleys  and  M'Goggins  on  a  larger 
scale. 

Besides  this  generous  sense  of  my  own  merits,  I  possessed  an- 
other qualification  thought  to  be  of  almost  equal  efficacy  in  helping 
one  through  the  world  ;  namely,  a  good  personal  appearance  ;  for, 
from  having  been  the  ugliest  little  imp  in  the  world,  I  was  now 
grown,  as  my  looking-glass  told  me,  quite  a  handsome  young  fel- 
low, with  black  eyes  and  hair — the  latter  very  curling  and  glossy, 
and,  indeed  the  admiration  of  all  the  young  ladies  in  the  town,  as 
well  as  myself,  and  a  figure  that,  in  the  main,  satisfied  my  own 
predilections  ;  there  being  no  fault  I  could  find,  except  that  I  was 
a  thought  shorter  than  was  necessary,  and  my  complexion  some- 
what more  tawny  than  suited  my  ideas  of  perfect  beauty. 

This  vanity  and  self-conceit,  as  the  reader  may  properly  esteem 


ROBIN    DAY.  73 

it,  I  know  not  whether  I  owed  in  greater  part  to  a  natural  spirit 
of  coxcombry,  or  to  the  uncommon  indulgences  I  had  so  suddenly 
fallen  heir  to  in  my  patron's  family  ;  which  were  enough  to  turn 
the  brain  of  one  to  whom  indulgences  had  been  before  wholly  un- 
known. But,  at  all  events,  the  foible  was  never  strong  enpugh 
to  throw  me  open  to  remark  ;  and,  as  I  have  mentioned,  the  catas- 
trophe of  the  night  had  banished  it  from  my  breast,  at  least  for  a 
time  ;  so  that  I  certainly  derived  no  advantage  from  it  in  what 
may  be  properly  considered  my  outset  in  life. 

My  other  qualifications  for  the  great  strife  of  the  world  were 
neither  many  nor  striking.  I  had  acquired,  during  my  five  years 
at  the  academy,  the  ordinary  rudiments  of  education,  besides  "  a 
little  Latin,"  as  the  crabbed  Ben  Johnson  disparagingly  said  of  his 
great  superior,  "  and  less  Greek  ;"  to  which  I  managed  to  add, 
during  the  few  months  I  was  ensconced  in  my  patron's  office,  a  lit- 
tle French,  a  knowledge  of  pestles  and  mortars,  and  the  knack  of 
pulling  out  easy  grinders.  I  had  picked  up  some  bad  Spanish 
from  the  cook,  and  from  the  coachman  the  art  of  riding  and  spoil- 
ing a  horse.  A  French  barber  had  taught  me  how  to  dance,  and 
I  learned  to  squeak  upon  a  cracked  flute  from  the  impulse  of  my 
own  genius  ;  which  even  impelled  me  to  the  frenzy  of  attempting 
the  fiddle,  whose  mellifluous  tones  I  dispelled  among  pill-boxes  and 
swinging  bones,  until  my  preceptor,  disgusted  at  my  music  and 
inattention  to  what  he  esteemed  my  proper  duties,  advised  me,  if 
I  wished  to  play  the  fiddle  to  draw  the  bow  over  my  own  head — 
a  sarcasm  which  ended  my  violining  on  the  instant. 

What  other  qualifications  I  may  have  possessed  I  am  ignorant 
of — except,  indeed,  an  uncommonly  good  and  strong  constitution, 
capable  of  enduring  all  exposures  and  hardships  ;  and  this  was,  I 
believe,  after  all,  the  only  one  on  which  I  ought  to  have  placed 
any  reliance.  I  was,  in  short,  an  ignorant  youth,  a  great  school- 
boy entirely  incompetent  to  the  task  of  self -management  or  self- 
preservation  ;  and  my  benefactor  had  acted  with  wisdom  in 
assigning  me  to  a  situation,  wherein,  besides  enjoying  security 
from  the  vengeance  of  the  law,  which  was  the  first  object  to  be 
aimed  at,  I  should  not  be  left  to  the  dangerous  duty  of  taking  care 
of  myself. 

I  rode  with  great  speed,  for  the  first  two  or  three  miles,  being 
all  the  while  in  terrible  fear  of  pursuit  ;  but,  by  and  by,  I  slack- 
ened a  little  in  my  gait,  the  night  being  still  very  dark  and  gusty, 


74  ADVENTURES    OF 

and  the  road,  like  all  other  roads  in  New  Jersey,  intolerably 
rough  and  dangerous.  As  my  fears  subsided,  my  griefs  began 
to  usurp  their  place  ;  and  the  thought  of  my  forlornness  and 
banishment — of  my  benefactor,  whom  I  loved  well,  and  of  Nanna 
whom,  I  discovered,  I  loved  still  better,  both  now  lost  to  me,  and 
perhaps  forever — weighed  so  heavily  upon  my  heart,  that  I  gave 
myself  up  to  despair,  and  lamented  my  fate  with  floods  of  tears. 
In  this  melancholy  employment  I  continued  a  mile  further  ;  and 
would  perhaps  have  continued  all  night,  had  it  not  been  for  an  inci- 
dent that  presently  bef el,  and  aroused  a  multitude  of  other  feelings. 

I  had  arrived  at  a  place,  where,  at  the  bottom  of  a  slaty  hill,  a 
by-road,  that  came  in  a  roundabout  way  from  the  town,  joined, 
and  terminated  in,  the  highway  upon  which  I  was  traveling  ;  and 
the  hill  being  pretty  bare,  for  it  was  a  barren,  dreary  place,  so  as 
to  offer  no  obstacle  to  the  transmission  of  sounds,  and  the  winds 
lulling  at  the  time,  I  was  made  sensible,  first,  by  the  animation 
and  snorting  of  my  steed,  Bay  Tom,  and  then  by  the  surer  evi- 
dence of  my  own  ears,  that  a  horseman  was  upon  the  by-road, 
descending  the  hill,  and  at  as  round  a  trot  as  myself.  This  dis- 
covery filled  me  with  confusion,  for  I  did  not  doubt  it  was  one  of 
the  many  pursuers,  who  were,  in  all  probability,  by  this  time, 
scouring  the  country  in  search  of  me. 

Afraid  to  turn  back,  as  that  would  be  only  to  rush  into  the 
hands  of,  perhaps,  a  whole  band  of  constables  and  deputy  sheriffs 
from  the  town,  and  relying  upon  the  speed  of  Bay  Tom,  who  was 
of  good  blood,  and  had  a  genealogy  ten  times  longer  than  my 
own,  I  increased  my  pace,  in  the  hopes  of  getting  beyond  the  by- 
road before  the  enemy  had  left  it  :  after  which,  I  intended  to 
show  him  as  clean  a  pair  of  heels  as  possible. 

To  my  dismay,  the  stranger  increased  his  pace  in  like  manner  ; 
and  the  thunder  of  his  hoofs,  which  grew  louder  and  louder  every 
moment,  as  the  roads  converged  nigher  together,  shook  the  hill. 
It  was  plain  he  was  riding  as  furiously  as  myself,  determined  to 
get  before  me  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and  so  intercept  me.  I 
spurred  the  harder  :  the  enemy  did  the  same  ;  and  both  came 
thundering  together  at  the  meeting  of  the  roads,  where  my  terror, 
which  was  now  mounted  to  a  pitch  of  perfect  ecstasy,  was  com- 
pleted by  the  bloody-minded  villain  flashing  a  pistol  in  my  face, 
and  exclaiming  with  a  voice  of  fury  and  desperation — "  Death 
before  dishonor  !  I  won't  be  taken  alive !" 


KOBIN   DAY.  V5 


The  flash  of  the  pistol  brought  my  horse  upon  his  hams,  fright- 
ened out  of  his  wits,  as  I  was  out  of  mine  ;  but  judge  my  astonish- 
ment when  I  recognized  in  those  terrible  tones  the  voice  of  my 
friend  Dicky  Dare  !  who,  a  fugitive  like  myself,  and,  like  myself, 
prepared  to  see  everybody  an  emissary  of  justice,  had  made  pre- 
cisely the  same  mistake  I  had  done,  had  taken  me  for  a  deputy 
sheriff,  as  I  had  taken  him,  had  aimed,  and  sorely  striven,  to  be  first 
in  at  the  meeting  of  the  roads,  with  the  same  intention  of  escape  ; 
and  finding  himself,  as  I  had  done,  intercepted  and  caught,  had, 
very  unlike  me,  resolved  to  sell  his  life  dear,  and  so  came  within 
an  ace  of  blowing  my  brains  out. 
"  Dicky  Dare  !"  cried  I. 
"  Sy  Tough  !"  quoth  he. 

These  were  our  exclamations  ;  and,  the  next  moment,  we  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter,  in  which,  fright,  sorrow  and  everything 
else,  save  the  ridiculousness  of  the  rencontre,  was  for  a  while  en- 
tirely forgotten. 

Having  exercised  our  lungs  in  this  way  until  the  humor  of 
merriment  was  satisfied,  we  came  to  a  mutual  explanation  ;  and  I 
found  that  General  Dicky  was,  like  myself,  an  outcast  and  exile, 
cast  upon  the  world  to  seek  his  fortune— that  we  were  brothers 
in  distress,  as  we  had  been  in  mischief. 

He,  it  seemed,  after  retiring  from  the  battle-ground,  had  made 
his  way  home,  though  without  any  preliminary  visit  to  the  fields 
or  dip  in  a  ditch,  and  not  without  some  doubts,  as  he  confessed,  as 
to  "  what  the  lawyers  would  think  of  the  matter,"  which  grew 
more  strongly  upon  him,  when,  presently,  a  friend  of  his  father, 
Captain  Dare,  suddenly  broke  in  with  the  fatal  intelligence  of 
M'Goggin's  being  at  the  point  of  death,  the  application  for  the  war- 
rants, etc. ;  whereupon  the  father,  eyeing  his  promising  heir  for  a 

moment,  with  ire  and  indignation,  at  last  roared  out — "  D your 

"blood,  if  you're  so  good  at  killing,  go  kill  the  enemies  of  your  coun- 
try !"  An  injunction  worthy  of  a  Roman  or  Spartan,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  Captain  Dare  giving  him  a  horse,  a  sorrel  nag  of  no  great 
value,  greatly  inferior,  indeed,  to  my  own  blooded  charger,  a 
hanger,  and  a  pair  of  pistols  ;  to  which  he  added  a  small  supply 
of  money— an  article  that  the  gratitude  of  the  Republic  took  good 
care  he  should  never  be  greatly  overburthened  with — and  then 
ordered  him  to  be  gone  to  the  nearest  army,  to  "  fight  like  a  bull- 
'  dog,  and  if  need  should  be,  to  die  like  one," 


76  ADVENTURES    OF 

This  was  exactly  the  thing  for  General  Dicky,  whose  soul  was 
as  eager  for  conflict  as  a  young  charger's,  and  "  smelt  the  battle 
afar  off,  the  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting  ;"  and  who, 
in  fact,  from  all  I  could  discover,  seemed  to  look  upon  the  killing 
of  M'Goggin  as  the  happiest  act  of  his  life,  inasmuch  as  it  was  to 
that  alone  he  owed  the  gratification  of  his  dearest  hope  and  most 
enthusiastic  desire  ;  that  is,  to  which  he  would  owe  it,  provided 
he  should  be  so  happy  as  to  escape  the  harpies  of  the  law,  of  whom 
he  was  in  some  dread,  as  his  late  transports  had  made  manifest. 


ROBIN    DAY.  77 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Another  terrible  adventure  befalls,  and  Robin  Day  saves  his  mon- 
ey and  loses  his  friend. 

MEANWHILE,  we  had  not  paused  to  enter  into  these  explana- 
tions, but  rode  onward  at  such  speed  as  the  nature  of  the  road 
permitted ;  and  the  martial  equanimity  wherewith  the  brave 
Dicky  seemed  to  bear  the  misfortune  of  the  murder,  which,  in  fact, 
he  professed  to  consider  a  mere  accident  of  war,  had  the  effect  of 
somewhat  enlivening  my  own  spirits.  We  found,  to  our  mutual 
delight,  that  both  were  bound,  in  the  first  instance,  to  Philadel- 
phia ;  and  Dicky  demanded  what  were  my  designs,  after  I  should 
get  there.  I  told  him  I  was  to  go  to  sea  in  a  privateer,  as  my  pa- 
tron had  arranged  for  me  ;  a  declaration  that  gave  him  extreme 
disgust. 

"  Upon  my  honor,  and  soul,  and  conscience,  by  Julius  Caesar," 
said  he,  "  I  would  as  lief  go  to  battle  in  a  meal-bag,  tied  up  to 
the  chin.  It's  all  small  game,  this  sea  business — a  fight  between 
two  dirty  little  ships — a  dog  and  a  pig  squabbling  in  a  gutter  ; — 
twelve  killed  and  twenty  wounded,  and  a  hellaballoo  in  the  news- 
papers. Give  me,"  he  cried,  with  enthusiasm,  "  a  fight  where 
there  is  a  thousand  killed  of  a  side,  or  it  may  be  twenty  thousand, 
with  scratches  in  proportion  ;  five  or  six  hundred  field  pieces 
blazing  away,  slambang,  all  together — fifty  thousand  muskets  pep- 
pering all  at  once,  bayonets  shining,  horses  charging,  trumpets 
clanging,  drums  rattling — rub-a-dub-a-dub — with  generals,  and 
field-marshals,  and  cocked  hats  and  feathers,  and  all  that,  my  fel- 
low !  by  Julius  Caesar,  that's  the  thing  for  me  !  But  your  nasty 
ships — all  tar  and  bilge  water,  brine,  slush,  stale  junk,  and  mouldy 
biscuit — rolling  about — sick  as  a  dog,  no  soul  in  you — nothing  but 
firing  off  cannon  and  making  wood  fly — nobody  killed  worth  talk- 
ing about — a  small  business — 'pon  my  honor,  and  soul,  and  con- 
science— by  Julius  Caesar,  a  small  business  !" 

"  But   remember,   Dicky,"  said   I,  somewhat  moved  at  his  con- 


Y8  ADVENTURES     OF 

temptuous  picture  of  my  destined  profession — "  remember  the 
prize-money." 

"Curse  the  prize-money,"  said  Dicky  Dare,  with  the  lofty 
spirit  of  a  soldier  ;  "  I  go  for  the  glory  !  However,"  he  added,  re- 
lapsing into  sentiments  not  so  high-flown,  "  there's  the  booty  that 
a  soldier  has,  to  put  against  your  prize-money  :  and  there's  some- 
times grand  picking  after  a  battle,  especially  in  an  enemy's  country. 
Think  of  a  city  taken  by  storm,  by  Julius  Caesar  ! — the  shops,  the 
banks  with  vaults  full  of  money  ! — the  rich  houses,  and  stables  full 
of  elegant  horses  ! — the  churches  with  golden  candlesticks  and  all 
sort  of  things  !  the  heaps  of  plate,  the  rings,  and  the  jewels  ! 
Ah,  by  Julius  Caesar,  it's  no  such  small  matter,  that  booty,  after 
all.  However,  I  don't  stick  for  that ;  the  honor's  the  thing,  the 
fame  and  the  greatness,  my  fellow  ;  and  that's  enough  for  a  sol- 
dier." 

With  this  the  gallant  general,  after  indulging  in  another  tirade 
against  the  meanness  and  insignificance  of  existence  at  sea,  partic- 
ularly in  a  privateer,  which  he  held  to  be  no  better  than  life  in  an 
oyster-boat,  proposed  I  should  give  up  the  design,  and  unite 
my  fotunes  with  his  ;  that  is,  turn  soldier  ;  for  which,  having  a 
good  horse,  and  some  of  the  sinews  of  war  in  my  pocket,  he  held 
me  admirably  well  qualified.  It  was  his  intention  to  proceed  with- 
out delay  to  the  theatre  of  war  on  the  Chesapeake,  which  was  the 
nearest  field  of  distinction  ;  and  there,  he  doubted  not,  wes  hould 
play  the  very  mischief  with  the  enemy,  and  cover  ourselves  with 
immortal  renown. 

The  idea  was  not  disagreeable  to  my  inclinations.  The  voyage 
in  the  privateer  I  had  not  yet  had  time  to  reflect  upon,  nor  to  ask 
myself  what  appetite  I,  whom  my  early  adventures  had  imbued 
with  an  inveterate  horror  of  salt  water,  might  have  for  it.  The 
conversation  of  Dicky  recalled  me  to  a  memory  of  my  disgust,  and 
-I  felt  a  stirring  desire  to  unite  with  him  in  his  noble  enterprise  ; 
whereby  I  should  both  avoid  the  terrors  of  the  sea  and  secure  to 
myself  the  company  and  countenance  of  Dicky,  whom  I  recog- 
nized as  a  superior  genius,  and  ardently  longed  to  have  as  a  com- 
panion. 

But  as  I  could  not  prevail  upon  myself  to  attempt  an  adventure 
so  important  without  the  consent  of  my  patron,  who  had  assigned 
to  me  another  career,  and  to  whose  will  I  was  desirous  to  yield 
implicit  submission,  as  some  amends  for  my  past  misconduct,  I 


KOBIN     DAY.  79 

proposed  deferring  my  answer  until  we  got  to  Philadelphia  ; 
whence  I  promised  to  write  to  Dr.  Howard,  and  request  his  per- 
mission to  seek  my  fortune  on  dry  land. 

To  this  proposition  the  General  very  readily  agreed,  declaring 
that  a  day  or  two  could  make  110  difference,  that  he  had  heard 
there  was  great  fun  in  the  big  cities,  and  that  the  theatres  were 
the  finest  places  in  the  world  ;  and  besides,  he  added,  having  dis- 
covered I  had  made  the  highly  unmilitary  blunder  of  setting  out 
without  any  arms,  while  he,  on  the  contrary,  was  armed  to  the 
teeth,  we  should  want  a  day  or  two  to  fit  me  out  with  the  proper 
weapons  and  other  munitions  of  war ;  among  which,  in  the 
warmth  of  his  fancy,  he  seemed  disposed  to  consider  as  highly 
proper,  though  he  would  not  pretend  to  say  they  were  indispen- 
sably necessary,  a  brace  of  General's  uniforms,  with  chapeau  and 
feather,  and  epaulettes,  complete.  But  as  these  articles,  he  ad- 
mitted, were  expensive,  it  was  proper  to  consider  how  we  stood 
provided  with  the  needful.  Accordingly,  he  demanded  how  much 
money  the  "old  codger,"  as  he  irreverently  termed  my  benefac- 
tor, had  given  me.  I  replied,  "  I  did  not  know  :  the  doctor  had 
given  me  a  pocket-book,  which  I  had  in  my  pocket ;  but  I  had  not 
time  to  examine  it,  and  I  knew  not  what  were  its  contents." 

"  As  for  me,"  said  Dicky,  with  an  important  tone,  "  I  never  go 
into  a  campaign  without  knowing  what  is  in  the  military  chest  ; 
and,  by  Julius  Caesar,  when  dad  gave  me  his  purse,  I  took  good 
care  to  count  all  the  money  in  it  ;  and,  by  Julius  Cassar"  (speak- 
ing as  if  he  expected  me  to  be  astonished),  "  there's  fifty  dollars 
in  it !" 

But  this  was  a  fortune  to  Dicky  ;  who,  from  the  poverty  of  his 
father,  had  always  been  kept  bare  of  money,  and  never  expected, 
perhaps,  to  handle  such  a  sum  in  his  life.  But  mean  as  the  sum 
appeared  to  me,  who,  besides  having  been  always  lavishly  sup- 
plied, had  been  accustomed  to  hear  my  patron  speak  of  his  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  (for  he  was  a  very  rich  man),  I  was 
astonished,  as  Dicky  anticipated  ;  though,  as  it  happened,  not  so 
much  at  the  vastness  of  his  treasure  as  at  a  danger  which  sud- 
denly invaded  it. 

We  had,  by  this  time,  left  our  homes  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  behind  us,  and  had  just  descended  one  of  the  many  vile  hills 
by  which  our  speed  was  retarded,  coming  to  a  wild  place  very 
dark  with  woods,  and  very  dismal,  where  the  road  seemed  to  fork  ; 


80  ADVENTURES    OP 

and  we  were  about  to  halt,  to  debate  upon  our  route,  when,  all 
of  a  sudden,  a  man  leaped  from  among  the  bushes,  and  seizing 
both  our  horses  by  the  bridles,  exclaimed — "D — n  my, eyes  !  if 
you're  so  flush  in  the  locker,  I  ain't.  Your  money,  or  your 
blood  !  " — a  demand  whose  abruptness  threw  me  into  such  mor- 
tal terror  that  I  thrust  my  hand  into  my  pocket,  intending  to  give 
him  all  I  had,  and  beg  for  mercy  besides.  General  Dare  received 
the  application  in  quite  another  way.  "  My  blood,  then,  by  Julius 
Caesar  ! "  cried  the  valiant  youth,  who  pulled  out  a  pistol,  and  fired 
it  without  ceremony  in  the  highwayman's  face,  bawling,  at  the 
same  time,  "  Surrender  you  dog,  or  die  !  " 

The  shot  did  instant  execution,  first  upon  the  robber,  who  fell 
to  the  earth,  with  a  curse  and  a  groan,  and  then  upon  our  horses, 
neither  of  which  displayed  the  courage  to  be  expected  of  chargers 
bound  to  the  battle-field,  but,  on  the  contrary,  fell  to  plunging  and 
prancing  like  incarnate  fiends  ;  and  then,  each  choosing  a  different 
fork  of  the  road,  betook  them  to  all  their  speed,  whether  we  would 
or  not,  leaving  the  wounded  highwayman  to  his  fate. 

To  this  inglorious  flight,  I,  obeying  in  my  own  instincts,  which 
were  pretty  much  like  those  of  the  animal's,  should  not,  I  believe, 
have  opposed  any  particular  objections,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
separation  from  General  Dare  ;  but  of  this  I  was  for  a  time  un- 
conscious, the  frenzy  of  Bay  Tom,  who,  besides  running  as  hard 
as  he  could,  made  sundry  desperate  attempts  to  get  rid  of  his 
rider,  giving  me  no  leisure  to  think  of  anything  but  the  preserva- 
tion of  my  own  neck.  Nor  did  I  recover  my  composure  until  the 
animal,  having  continued  his  flight  for  about  half  a  mile,  suddenly 
came  to  a  stop  among  a  crew  of  wagoners,  who,  with  their 
wagons,  were  encamped  for  the  night  in  front  of  a  little  tavern  on 
the  wayside,  greatly  patronized  by  worthies  of  that  class  ;  and 
finished  the  adventure  by  flinging  up  his  heels,  in  a  fury,  I  sup- 
pose, of  delight  at  his  happy  escape  ;  whereby  I  was  very  sud- 
denly transferred  from  his  back  to  that  of  a  wagoner,  who  had  got 
up  to  stir  the  fire,  and  was  now  prostrated  by  the  vigor  of  the 
salutation. 

The  man,  at  first  frightened,  and  then  enraged,  awoke  his  com- 
panions by  his  exclamations  ;  and  they  came  tumbling  out  of  their 
carriages,  threatening  dire  things  against  the  invader  of  their  rest ; 
but  when  I  had  informed  them  of  the  cause  of  the  accident,  and 
the  attack  of  the  highwayman,  they  abated  their  rage,  or  rather 


ROBIN   DAT.  81 

directed  it  to  the  robber,  whom  they  immediately  swore  they  would 
take,  dead  or  alive.  Each  seized  upon  a  horse,  and  the  man  whom 
I  had  prostrated,  jumped  without  any  ceremony,  upon  Bay  Tom  ; 
thus  putting  it  out  of  my  power  to  accompany  them — as  perhaps 
I  should  have  willingly  done,  to  seek  for  my  friend  Dicky — and 
away  they  galloped  to  the  field  of  battle. 


82  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  still  more  extraordinary  adventure,  in  which  Robin  Day  falls 
among  Philistines,  and  is  convicted  of  highway  robbery  /  and 
how  he  escapes  the  dangers  thereof. 

IN  the  meanwhile,  the  tavern-keeper  had  got  up,  and  opened  his 
doors,  and  I  was  glad  to  shelter  me  in  his  bar-room,  where  was  a 
cheerful  fire.  He  plied  me  with  questions  about  the  robbery, 
which  I  satisfied  as  well  as  I  could,  and  then  about  myself,  making 
little  ceremony  in  asking  who  I  was,  whence  I  had  come,  whither 
I  was  going,  why  I  traveled  at  night,  etc. ;  questions  which  I  could 
not  answer  without  some  appearance  of  confusion  and  eqnivoca- 
cation  (for  I  feared  lest  he  should  discover  I  was  a  fugitive  from 
justice),  which  gave  him  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  me,  and  ex- 
cited suspicions  not  altogether  advantageous  to  my  character. 

Fortunately  for  me,  his  interrogatories  were  soon  put  an  end  to 
by  the  return  of  the  wagoners,  who  had  found  the  robber  lying 
senseless  on  the  road,  dragged  him  with  no  great  tenderness  be- 
tween them  to  the  tavern,  and  now  haled  him  into  the  bar-room, 
where  he  displayed  a  figure  that  inspired  me  with  dread. 

He  was  a  stout,  sinewy,  middle-aged  man,  dressed  like  a  sailor, 
with  a  tarpaulin  knapsack  on  his  back,  a  new  blue  cloth  jacket, 
and  old  canvas  trousers  exceedingly  well  daubed  with  pitch,  and 
no  hat  or  cap,  that  covering  having  been  lost  in  the  scuffle.  He 
had  a  most  savage  countenance,  covered  with  whiskers,  beard,  and 
hair,  all  black  and  grizzled,  with  a  swarthy  skin  that  was  now, 
owing  to  faintness  and  loss  of  blood,  of  a  cadaverous,  leaden  color; 
and  there  were  drops  of  blood  on  his  forehead,  coming  from  some 
wound  on  the  head,  and  a  more  plentiful  besprinkling  on  his 
uhirt,  that  added  to  the  grimness  and  ferocity  of  his  appearance. 

The  roughness  with  which  he  had  been  dragged  from  the  road 
had  stirred  up  the  latent  powers  of  life  and  he  was  beginning  to 
rouse  from  his  insensibility,  as  the  wagoners  brought  him  into  the 
room,  vociferating  a  thousand  triumphant  encomiums  upon  their 


ROBIN   DAY.  83 

own  courage,  and  as  many  felicitations  upon  the  prospect  they 
thought  they  had,  both  of  being  rewarded  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State  for  apprehending  such  a  desperate  villain,  and  of  seeing 
him  hanged  into  the  bargain.  Being  in  such  a  happy  mood,  they 
agreed  with  great  generosity  to  treat  their  prisoner  to  a  glass  of 
grog,  with  a  view  of  enlivening  his  spirits  and  recalling  his  wits  ; 
and  this  being  accordingly  presented,  and  immediately  swallowed 
with  great  eagerness,  had  the  good  effect  of  restoring  him  at  once 
to  his  faculties.  This  he  made  apparent  by  suddenly  bending  an 
eye  of  indignant  inquiry  on  his  captors,  who  held  him  fast  by  the 
collar,  and  by  exclaiming,  in  corresponding  tones, — "  Sink  my 
timbers,  shipmates  !  do  you  intend  to  murder,  as  well  as  rob 
me?" 

This  address,  which  filled  them  with  surprise,  the  wagoners 
answered  by  telling  him,  "  they  were  no  robbers,  but  he  was,  as  he 
should  find  to  his  cost  ;"  a  charge  that,  to  my  amazement,  the 
honest  man,  instead  of  admitting  in  full,  repelled  with  furious  in- 
dignation, swearing  that,  instead  of  being  a  robber,  he  had  him- 
self been  robbed  by  a  brace  of  rascally  land-rats  on  the  road  under 
their  noses — plundered  of  a  huge  store  of  prize-money,  the  gains 
of  a  whole  year  of  fighting,  which  he  was  carrying  to  his  wife  and 
children  in  Philadelphia,  and  knocked  on  the  head  into  the  bargain; 
that  he  would  have  the  blood  of  the  villains,  whom  he  could  swear 
to,  and  would  pursue  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  and  if 
they,  the  wagoners,  were  honest  fellows,  and  loved  a  sailor  that 
had  been  fighting  their  battles  on  the  stormy  seas,  they  would  help 
him  to  catch  the  rascals,  instead  of  jawing  him  like  a  thief  and  a 
pirate — they  would,  split  him. 

This  address,  delivered  with  matchless  effrontery,  and  with  an 
air  of  injured  and  insulted  innocence  quite  indescribable,  had  the 
effect  of  staggering  several  of  the  captors,  who  evidently  began  to 
think  they  had  made  a  mistake  ;  while  others  laughed  it  to  scorn  ; 
and  one  of  them  called  me  forward  (for  I  had  kept,  from  modesty 
and  fear,  in  the  background,)  to  confront  the  fellow  ;  which  I  did, 
though  with  no  good  heart,  having  a  great  dread  of  his  ferocious 
looks.  But,  however  terrible  the  robber  appeared  in  my  eyes,  I,  it 
seems,  possessed  an  appearance  equally  alarming  in  his  ;  for  no 
sooner  had  he  caught  sight  of  me,  than  he  roared  out,  "  That's  one 
of  the  land-sharks,  sink  me  !  "  and  starting  back,  with  the  air  of 
one  endeavoring  to  overcome  a  fit  of  trepidation,  called  upon  some 


8 4  ADVENTURES    OP 

of  the  company  to  give  him  a  pistol  or  cutlass,  and  upon  the 
others  to  "  hold  the  villain  fast,  for  he  could  swear  his  life  against 
me." 

I  was  confounded  at  this  sally ;  and  as  the  sailor  had  every  ap- 
pearance of  being  in  earnest,  and  the  wagoners  looked  as  if  vastly 
inclined  to  believe  his  story,  I  began  to  have  my  doubts  whether  I 
was  not  a  robber  in  reality.  To  complete  my  confusion,  the  inn- 
keeper now  swore  "  he  had  had  his  suspicions  of  me  from  the 
first,"  and  said  I  ought  to  be  searched  for  the  sailor's  money.  A 
furious  contention  arose  among  the  wagoners,  some  insisting  that 
I  was,  others  that  I  was  not,  the  robber ;  the  former  arguing  my 
innocence  from  the  fact  of  my  coming  of  my  own  accord  into 
their  camp  ;  while  the  others,  among  whom  was  the  man  upon 
whose  back  I  had  been  pitched,  declared  the  visit  was  not  volun- 
tary, but  that  I  had  been  thrown  among  them  by  my  horse,  entire- 
ly against  my  will,  and  had  invented  the  story  of  my  having  been 
robbed,  only  to  prevent  their  arresting  me  as  the  robber. 

And  during  all  this  time,  the  real  Simon  Pure,  the  highwayman 
himself,  kept  up  a  terrible  din,  calling  me  a  thief  and  pirate,  de- 
manding a  weapon,  insisting  that  the  wagoners  should  hold  me 
fast  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  rage,  discovering  so  much  disin- 
clination to  come  within  arm's  length  of  me,  who  was,  on  my  part, 
ready  to  swoon  with  dismay,  that  some  of  the  company  were  scan- 
dalized at  his  cowardice  ;  which  was  the  more  remarkable  in  one 
of  his  age  and  warlike  profession,  and  assured  him  "  the  little 
boy,"  as  they  contemptuously  termed  me,  "  would  not  eat  him." 

Encouraged,  or  pretending  to  be  encouraged,  by  this  assurance, 
(for  the  crafty  knave  was  merely  playing  a  part,)  he  threw  aside 
his  fear,  seized  me  by  the  collar,  and  gave  me  a  furious  shaking, 
overwhelming  me  with  denunciations  and  maledictions  ;  and  the 
others  of  the  company,  moved  by  the  same  imitative  impulse, 
which,  when  one  dog  of  a  village  attacks  a  currish  visitant,  leads 
all  the  other  dogs  of  the  town  to  set  upon  the  stranger  in  like  man- 
ner, fell  upon  me  likewise  ;  so  that  I  thought  I  should  have  been 
shaken  to  death  among  them. 

It  was  in  vain  I  remonstrated,  and  protested  my  own  innocence 
and  the  guilt  of  the  sailor.  The  latter  worthy  grew  more  furious 
and  determined  every  moment ;  and  finding  that  I  had  a  horse  at 
the  door,  he  carried  his  audacity  to  the  pitch  of  claiming  him  as 
his  own,  or  rather  as  his  captain's,  which,  he  said,  he  was  carrying 


ROBIN    DAY.  85 

to  Philadelphia  for  his  commander  ;  swore  I  had  knocked  him  off 
that  very  beast's  back,  and  then  run  off  with  him  ;  and  ended  by 
jumping  upon  Bay  Tom's  back,  and  riding  immediately  off,  for 
the  purpose,  as  he  said,  of  hunting  up  my  accomplice,  "  the  other 
villain,"  who  had  made  off  with  his  prize-money  ;  in  which  under- 
taking he  invited  the  assistance  of  the  wagoners,  promising  a 
handsome  reward  to  any  who  should  help  him  to  a  sight  of  the 
pirate.  This  induced  two  or  three  of  them  to  mount  their  horses  ; 
and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  scoundrel,  whose  unparal- 
leled impudence  had  thus  carried  him  through,  gallop  away  with 
my  patron's  horse,  leaving  me  a  prisoner  in  his  place. 

I  was  nearly  distracted  by  this  turn  of  affairs  ;  and  seeing  no 
other  way  left  to  release  myself  from  the  hands  of  the  innkeeper 
and  his  customers,  and  persuade  them  to  attempt  the  recovery  of 
the  horse  before  it  was  too  late,  I  made  a  merit  of  necessity,  and 
told  them  who  I  was,  and  the  causes  of  my  adventurous  journey. 

This  only  made  matters  a  hundred  times  worse  than  before  ;  for 
the  wagoners,  now  discovering  I  was  a  fugitive  from  justice,  and 
trusting  there  might  be  a  reward  offered  for  my  apprehension, 
which  they  had  it  in  their  power  to  secure,  immediately  locked 
me  up  in  a  Itttle  room  in  the  garret ;  whence  I  could  hear  them 
through  the  chinks  of  the  floor,  debating  with  one  another  wheth- 
er they  should  immediately  carry  me  back  to  the  town  I  had 
left,  or  detain  me  a  prisoner,  until  made  certain  that  a  reward  had 
been  actually  proclaimed  for  my  delivery.  As  neither  of  these 
alternatives  possessed  any  charms  for  me,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
filled  me  with  new  desperation,  I  began  to  cast  about  for  some 
means  of  escape  ;  and  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  discover  a  win- 
dow, through  which  I  found  no  great  difficulty  in  creeping  out 
upon  the  roof,  and  thence,  by  means  of  a  shed,  and  a  willow-tree 
that  grew  beside  it,  of  dropping  on  the  ground. 


86  ADVENTURES     OF 


CHAPTER    XV. 

How  Dicky  Dare  meets  and  routs  tioo  armies  of  wagoners,  while 
Robin  Day  plays  the  Babe  in  the  Wood. 

MY  escape  from  the  tavern  and  the  wagoners  thus  effected,  I 
ran  with  all  my  speed  to  the  nearest  wood,  glad  to  be  a  freeman 
once  more,  though  with  the  loss  of  my  horse  and  saddlebags,  in 
which  latter  was  all  my  clothes;  and  the  loss  of  it  was  the  more 
provoking,  as  I  had  snatched  it  from  Bay  Tom's  back,  when  the 
wagoner  mounted  him,  and  so  saved  it  from  the  robber  only  to 
leave  it  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  captors.  But  the  loss  was, 
after  all,  not  so  very  great;  for  the  villains,  notwithstanding  their 
threats,  having  abstained  from  searching  my  pockets,  I  was  still 
in  possession  of  my  pocket-book,  and  the  letter  to  Mr.  Bloodmoney, 
as  well  as  the  string  of  beads,  which  my  patron  had  insisted  I 
should  put  round  my  neck. 

I  was,  I  am  certain,  more  grieved  at  the  loss  of  my  friend  Dicky, 
whose  disappearance  I  knew  not  how  to  account  for,  than  at  any 
other  deprivation,  as  I  had  now  greater  need  than  ever  of  his 
countenance  and  assistance.  But  as  I  knew  not  where  to  look  for 
him,  and  felt  it  needful  to  improve  the  time  in  getting  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  dangerous  vicinity  of  the  tavern,  1  did  not  pause 
to  lament  or  consider;  but  discovering  the  points  of  the  compass 
by  the  gray  streaks  of  the  dawn,  which  were  beginning  to  appear, 
I  turned  my  face  towards  the  southwest,  which  I  judged  to  be 
pretty  nigh  the  direction  of  Philadelphia,  and  set  forward  with  all 
the  vigor  I  possessed,  hoping  to  make  my  way,  like  a  wild  Indian, 
through  the  woods. 

And  here  I  may  as  well  inform  the  reader  what  became  of  my 
friend  Dicky,  the  history  of  whose  adventures  I  did  not  learn  until 
many  weeks  afterwards.  He  had  had,  like  me,  the  misfortune  to  be 
run  away  with  by  his  horse,  which,  plunging  into  a  wood,  managed 
to  get  rid  of  the  General,  after  a  time,  by  brushing  him  off  against 
a  bough,  % and  then  ended  the  race  by  plumping  into  a  swamp, 


ROBIN     DAY.  87 

• 

where  he  stuck  fast,  and  was  presently  found  by  Dicky,  who,  after 
an  hour  of  toil,  succeeded  in  extricating  him  from  the  mire.  This 
done,  Dicky  rode  back  to  the  battle-ground,  and  thence  to  the 
tavern,  at  which  he  arrived  only  a  few  moments  after  I  had  left  it, 
and,  indeed,  just  as  my  jailers  had  made  discovery  of  my  flight, 
which  had  thrown  them  into  a  ferment  of  rage  and  disappoint- 
ment. 

The  appearance  of  Dicky,  who,  by  the  questions  he  asked  after 
me,  they  discovered  to  be  my  fellow  robber  and  accomplice  in 
flight,  and  who  would  therefore  prove  as  valuable  a  capture  as 
myself,  was  the  signal  for  an  assault  that  they  instantly  made 
upon  him,  but  which  the  valiant  Dicky,  no  wise  disconcerted  by 
their  numbers,  repelled  with  equal  resolution  and  discretion.  Snatch- 
ing at  his  pistols,  which  the  practice  of  the  night  had  already 
made  him  familiar  with,  he  let  fly  among  the  assailants,  shooting 
one  of  them  right  through  the  hat,  who,  leaping  back  in  mortal 
terror,  overthrew  a  companion,  with  whom  he  fell  to  the  earth; 
and  both  believing  themselves  dead  men,  they  yelled  out  in  such  a 
horrible  way  that  the  others  were  struck  with  consternation,  and  im- 
mediately put  to  flight.  Of  this  the  youthful  general,  who  was  too 
much  of  a  soldier  to  pursue  a  success  too  far,  took  instant  advan- 
tage by  riding  off,  though  only,  as  it  appeared,  to  encounter  a 
new  danger.  The  wagoners  who  had  pricked  away  with  the  vil- 
lanous  sailor  in  quest  of  my  fancied  accomplice,  were  by  this  time 
returning  from  the  expedition,  after  having  been  by  some  unac- 
countable accident  separated  from  their  leader,  whom,  with  Bay 
Tom,  they  were  never  destined  to  see  again,  and  they  had  arrived 
so  nigh  the  little  inn  as  to  hear  the  sounds  of  conflict,  and  even  to 
see,  though  indistinctly,  (for  the  morning  was  yet  but  little  ad- 
vanced,) the  rout  of  their  companions  and  the  retreat  of  the  victor, 
whom,  not  doubting  him  to  be  the  identical  highwayman  they  had 
been  seeking,  they  now  made  preparations  to  intercept,  taking  up 
such  a  position  on  the  road  as  rendered  a  passage  through  them 
desperately  diflicult,  if  not  wholly  impracticable.  But  Dicky's  soul 
was  now  up  in  arms;  his  late  victory  had  given  double  edge  to  his 
courage,  so  that  he  eyed  his  opponents  with  disdain,  and  resolved 
to  cut  his  way  through  them  or  die  nobly  in  the  attempt.  And 
for  this  undertaking  there  was  now  the  greater  necessity,  as  he 
perceived  the  assailants  he  had  just  put  to  flight  had  caught  sight 
of  their  comrades,  and,  being  encouraged  by  the  reinforcement, 


88  ADVENTURES     OF 

were  making  demonstrations  of  a  design  to  attack  him  on  the 
rear. 

He  rode  forward,  therefore,  preserving  a  good  countenance,  and 
having  come  within  striking  distance,  discharged,  without  any 
hesitation,  his  remaining  pistol  at  his  foes  ;  and  then,  drawing  his 
hanger,  he  charged  upon  them  at  full  gallop,  using  his  weapon 
with  such  fury,  slashing  one  over  the  back,  slicing  the  fingers  of  a 
second,  and  nearly  poking  out  the  eyes  of  a  third,  that  the 
wagoners,  who  had  been  already  somewhat  disconcerted  and  dis- 
ordered by  the  pistol  shot,  were  thrown  into  a  panic,  and  fled 
from  before  the  terrors  of  his  face  ;  until  a  lucky  gap  in  a  fence 
gave  them  an  opportunity  of  darting  into  the  woods,  and  so  escap- 
ing the  terrible  thwacks  which  he  dealt  around  him  with  relentless 
rigor.  The  road  being  thus  cleared,  the  young  champion  pursued 
his  way  ;  and  giving  me  up  for  lost,  or  supposing,  (as  he  after- 
wards told  me,)  that  I  was  before  him  on  the  road,  he  spurred 
onward  with  such  vigor  as  to  reach  Philadelphia  before  the  close 
of  the  day,  the  distance  from  our  town  being  fully  sixty  miles. 

As  for  me,  I  made  no  such  speed  in  my  journey,  which  I  was 
obliged  to  perform  on  foot.  For  though  I  discovered,  upon 
examining  the  pocket-book,  that  my  good  patron  had  supplied  me 
with  abundant  means  even  to  have  bought  another  horse,  had  I 
chosen,  or  to  have  traveled  in  any  other  way,  I  was  so  terrified  at 
the  mishaps  that  had  already  befallen  me,  and  was  in  such  fear  of 
being  apprehended  a  second  time,  that  I  avoided  the  highway 
altogether ;  and  even  resorted  to  lanes  and  by-ways  only  because 
I  found  it  impossible  to  make  any  progress  in  the  woods  ;  where, 
besides  being  always  bewildered,  I  was  in  danger  of  perishing  with 
famine.  I  made  one  or  two  efforts  to  hire  a  horse  of  farmers  in 
lonely  places,  but  found  no  success,  none  of  them  liking  my  looks 
or  account  of  myself,  which,  I  doubt  not,  were  both  suspicious 
enough ;  and  as  some  of  them  betrayed  an  inclination,  or  so  I 
thought,  to  detain  me  upon  speculation,  in  the  hope  that  they 
might  make  something  by  it,  I  found  myself  compelled  to  give 
over  all  attempts  of  that  kind,  and  trust  to  my  own  legs  for  safety. 
Nay,  as  I  perceived  there  was  a  danger  even  in  visiting  their 
houses  for  food  or  shelter,  because  they  were  all  so  inquisitive, 
and  so  distrustful,  when  they  perceived  my  hesitation  in  answer- 
ing their  questions,  I  took  means  to  make  such  visitations  unneces- 
sary, by  buying,  in  a  small  village  I  passed  through,  a  little  wallet 


ROBIN    DAY.  89 

or  knapsack,  which  I  crammed  with  food,  and  such  other  necessaries 
as  I  could  procure,  and  slung  upon  my  back.  Thus  provided,  I 
trudged  along  with  greater  independence,  and  in  less  fear,  and 
even  had  the  hardihood  to  sleep  one  night  in  the  woods,  though  in 
horrible  discomfort  from  the  cold,  and  a  furious  rain  that  fell  that 
night. 

From  these  causes,  it  happened  that  I  traveled  very  slowly  ; 
and  it  was  not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  that  I  arrived 
at  the  town  of  Camden,  on  the  Delaware  ;  and  thence,  in  a  ferry- 
boat, crossed  over  to  Philadelphia,  whose  huge  size  and  endless 
array  of  ship  masts  and  chimneys,  stretched  in  a  waving  line  along 
the  river,  filled  me  with  astonishment  and  alarm.  I  was  landed 
by  the  ferryman  at  the  foot  of  High  Street,  which,  as  it  was  a 
market  day,  was  full  of  people,  and  especially  shad-women,  from 
one  of  whom,  whose  basket  I  had  the  misfortune  to  make  my  first 
step  into — being  beside  myself  with  wonder  and  confusion — I 
received  a  benediction  much  more  eloquent  than  elegant,  and 
would  perhaps  have  had  a  box  on  the  ear  also,  had  I  not  made  a 
precipitate  retreat  out  of  her  reach  and  the  region  of  the  fi'sh 
market. 


90  ADVENTURES    OP 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Robin  Day  arrives  at  Philadelphia,  and  meets  many  adventures 
therein  and  some  grievances,  which  he  cures  with  a  pinch  of 
snuff. 

HAVING  got  over  my  first  amazement  at  the  sight  of  such  a 
prodigious  number  of  houses  and  people,  and  emerged  from  a 
species  of  dejection  which  held  me  for  a  moment  at  the  thought 
of  my  insignificance  and  almost  nonentity  among  such  a  multitude 
of  men,  I  began  to  enjoy  greater  ease  and  contentment  of  mind 
than  I  had  known  for  several  days.  My  very  insignificance,  it 
appeared  to  me,  was  my  best  protection,  for  "  sure,"  thought  I, 
"among  so  many  people  I  shall  be  in  little  danger  of  my  pursuers, 
the  constables  and  deputy  sheriffs,  who  might  hunt  for  me  in  such 
a  city  for  weeks  in  vain." 

With  this  encouraging  reflection,  my  natural  spirits  returned  at 
length  to  such  a  degree,  that  instead  of  jumping  into  the  gutter 
to  make  room  for  every  body  that  passed,  as  I  had  modestly  done 
at  first,  I  elbowed  my  way  along  like  others,  endeavoring  to 
assume,  as  far  as  I  could,  the  air  of  ease  and  the  step  of  busy  haste 
which  seemed  to  characterize  the  citizens. 

In  this  I  succeeded  to  my  wish,  and  had  just  begun  to  conceit 
myself  almost  a  citizen,  and  to  fancy  that  everybody  else  so  con- 
sidered me,  when  my  equanimity  received  a  blow  from  the  wheel- 
barrow of  a  black  porter,  who,  coming  up  from  behind,  whistling 
Yankee  Doodle  with  a  vigor  that  drowned  the  crocking  of  his 
wheel,  tumbled  me  into  a  lot  of  pottery  arranged  along  the  pave- 
ment, whereby,  though  I  received  no  greater  injury  than  a  rent  or 
two  in  my  coat,  great  damage  was  done  among  the  merchandise. 

This  accident,  which  might  have  moved  the  concern  of  any 
rational  being,  its  cause,  the  negro,  did  not  seem  in  the  least  to  re- 
gard, but  went  on  his  way,  whistling  as  before  ;  which  incensing 
me,  I  started  up,  intending  to  chastise  him  for  his  impudent 
assault  with  a  staff  I  had  cut  in  the  woods  and  still  retained. 


ROBIN    DAY.  91 

But  here  I  was  doomed  to  a  disappointment,  the  dealer  in  wash- 
bowls and  pattipans  seizing  me  by  the  collar,  and  declaring  I 
should  not  leave  him  until  I  had  paid  for  the  damage  I  had  clone, 
which  he  estimated  at  two  or  three  dollars,  though  he  afterwards 
abated  his  demand  to  one.  I  would  have  remonstrated  upon  the 
injustice  of  making  me  pay  for  a  mischief  evidently  caused  by  the 
negro  ;  but  my  merchant  only  grew  angry,  and  declared  he  would 
carry  me  to  the  nearest  justice  ;  which  was  an  alternative  so  fright- 
ful to  me,  who  had  such  terror  of,  and  such  occasion  to  keep  at 
a  distance  from,  all  limbs  of  the  law,  that  I  consented  to  satisfy 
his  demand,  and  handed  him  a  five-dollar  bill  accordingly.  But 
this  being  a  New  Jersey  note,  which,  he  affirmed,  was,  like  the  bills 
of  all  New  Jersey  banks,  at  a  discount,  he  refused  to  receive  it, 
unless  I  allowed  him  an  additional  half-dollar  by  way  of  premium  ; 
and  I  was  about  yielding  to  his  demand,  when  a  decent  looking 
man  stepped  forward,  inveighed  against  the  roguery  of  the  fellow 
for  endeavoring,  as  he  said,  to  take  advantage  of  my  youth  and 
ignorance,  swore  that  New  Jersey  bank-bills  were  never  at  a  dis- 
count, but  always  at  par,  and  ended  by  giving  the  fellow  a  dollar 
bill  of  some  Philadelphia  bank,  and  handing  me  four  others  as 
change  ;  which  being  done,  he  clapped  my  Jersey  note  into  his 
own  pocket,  and  walked  off  to  escape  the  thanks  with  which  I, 
charmed  with  his  politeness  and  liberality,  was  disposed  to  over- 
whelm him. 

This  occurrence  gave  me  a  high  idea  of  the  generosity  and 
kindness  of  Philadelphians  to  strangers  ;  which  was  only  abated 
by  my  discovering,  as  I  did  about  five  minutes  afterwards,  that  the 
four  bills  given  me  by  the  good-natured  stranger  were  counterfeit, 
and  my  liberal  gentleman  a  rascally  swindler,  who  had  rescued  my 
youth  and  ignorance  from  the  jaws  of  the  pottery  merchant,  only 
to  enjoy  a  huger  bite  of  them  himself. 

Having  accomplished  this  adventure,  I  proceeded  onward,  intend- 
ing to  hunt  my  way  to  some  respectable  hotel,  without  asking 
assistance  of  any  one  to  direct  me  ;  a  measure  that  I  thought  was 
needless,  and  which  I  had,  besides,  the  greater  aversion  to,  as  it 
would  be  to  acknowledge  myself  a  stranger  ;  and  I  considered  that 
the  fewer  who  knew  that,  the  less  would  be  my  danger  of  discovery. 

I  had  not  well  got  over  the  anger  I  had  been  thrown  into  by  the 
assault  of  the  porter,  when  it  was  my  fate  to  encounter  another 
blackamoor,  a  strapping  tatterdemalion,  who  had  upon  his  shoulder 


92  ADVENTURES    OF 

an  axe  and  beetle,  with  a  brace  of  iron  wedges  suspended  by  a 
string,  which  he  clinked  together  as  he  went,  crying  at  intervals, 
"  Wood  !  wood !  split  wood  !"  with  a  very  nasal  twang,  and  a 
melodious  snap  quite  inimitable.  This  vagabond,  who  seemed  as- 
deeply  engaged  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  music  as  the  porter  had 
been,  I  very  naturally  expected  would  get  out  of  the  way,  as  he 
passed  me  ;  instead  of  doing  which,  he  stalked  against  me,  as  if 
entirely  ignorant  of  my  presence,  or  quite  indifferent  to  it  ;  and  I 
was,  in  a  twinkling,  laid  upon  my  back  by  his  maul,  which  struck 
me  on  the  head,  while  his  two  wedges,  at  the  same  time,  beat  such 
a  tattoo  on  my  breast,  that  I  thought,  during  the  instant  of  con- 
tact, they  would  have  drummed  my  heart  out.  I  leaped  up, 
greatly  exasperated,  and  snatched  at  my  stick  to  beat  the  villain  ; 
who,  perceiving  my  design,  which  was  made  the  more  manifest  by 
some  abusive  epithet  I  let  fly  at  him,  paused  a  moment,  and 
regarding  me  with  extreme  astonishment  and  contempt,  exclaimed 
— '•  Guy  !  guess  the  younker's  a  fool !  Git  out  of  my  way,  will 
you?"  And  with  these  words,  and  the  addition  of  his  usual 
twanging  note,  "  Wood  !  wood  !  split  wood  !"  he  passed  on,  leav- 
ing me  covered  with  rage  and  mortification,  which  Avere  the 
greater  for  my  not  having  dared  to  beat  him  ;  for,  in  truth,  while 
he  spoke,  he  laid  hold  of  his  beetle  as  if  resolved  to  requite 
any  attack  I  should  presume  to  attempt,  by  making  a  wedge  of 
me,  and  driving  me  through  the  pavement. 

In  two  minutes  more  I  encountered  a  similar  accident;  a  third 
negro  running  against  me  with  a  violence  that  pitched  me  into  a 
cellar,  where  was  a  cooper  making  cedar  barrels  or  churns,  one  of 
which  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  demolish,  just  as  he  had  completed 
his  task  of  putting  its  different  parts  together.  And  here,  again,, 
I  expected  to  be  met  with  a  claim  for  damages,  but  my  cooper  was 
a  good-natured  fellow,  and,  having  eyed  me  a  moment  with  sur- 
prise, while  I  was  dragging  my  leg  from  amid  the  ruins  of  his 
work,  he  said,  as  if  giving  me  friendly  counsel,  "  You've  kicked 
the  barrel  to  pieces  this  time,  my  fine  fellow;  take  care,  the  next, 
you  don't  kick  the  bucket."  Which  piece  of  wit — for  a  piece  of 
wit,  I  believe,  he  considered  it — having  passed  his  lips,  he  burst 
into  a  haw-haw  of  approbation  at  his  own  smartness;  and  I,  curs- 
ing him  in  my  heart  for  his  insensibility  to  my  pangs — for  I  had 
broken  my  shin  by  the  accident — and  mad  with  vexation  and  a 
vengeful  desire  to  punish  the  author  of  my  misfortunes,  clamb- 


ROBIN    DAY.  93 

ered  up  to  the  street  again,  but   only  to  find  that  the  victorious 
rascal  had  vanished  away. 

These  three  several  assaults  led  me  to  further  observation  of  the 
deportment  of  the  colored  gentlemen  of  Philadelphia,  and  I  was 
soon  convinced  that  they  were,  next  to  the  pigs,  the  true  aristoc- 
racy of  the  town,  or,  at  least,  of  the  streets  thereof.  I  perceived 
that  all  passers-by  of  white  complexion  and  genteel  appearance, 
of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  gave  the  way  to  their  sable  brethern, 
stepping  reverentially  aside  to  let  them  pass,  and  that,  if  they  did 
not,  the  chance  was  that  the  sable  brethern  would  revenge  the 
slight  by  jostling  them  into  the  gutter  or  any  open  packing-box 
that  lay  convenient.  I  observed  also,  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
gained  by  the  sufferer  remonstrating  in  such  cases,  except  a  deal 
of  insolent  and  abusive  language,  which  the  lords  of  the  trottoir 
had  always  ready  at  command,  by  way  of  convincing  the  com- 
plainant that  they  were  as  good  as  himself,  if  not  a  great  deal  bet- 
ter. The  insolence  of  the  black  republicans  was  to  me  astonishing, 
though  not  more  so  than  the  general  submissiveness  with  which  I 
found  it  endured.  I  saw  one  fellow,  a  porter  with  a  wheelbarrow, 
execute,  upon  a  well-dressed  lady,  the  same  feat  that  his  comrade 
had  lately  performed  upon  me;  that  is,  he  knocked  her  down  with 
his  carriage,  though  not  upon  a  pile  of  pottery;  and  the  only 
apology  the  villain  made  was  a  great  horse-laugh,  and  a  giggling 
cry  of  "  Couldn't  help  it,  Missus,  'pon  wudder  honor  !"  Nor  did 
I  find  a  single  one  of  the  many  persons  who  witnessed  the  aggres- 
sion and  helped  the  lady  to  her  feet,  who  was  disposed  to  resent  it 
further  than  by  declaring,  "  the  colored  people  were  growing  too 
insolent,"  except,  indeed,  myself,  who,  being,  by  this  time,  boiling 
over  with  indignation,  saluted  the  grinning  baboon  with  a  thwack 
of  my  staff  over  the  shins,  which  had  the  effect  of  surprising  him 
into  a  very  singular  leap  or  dodge  that  carried  him  head-foremost 
into  his  own  barrow,  the  back  of  which  giving  way  under  the 
blow,  he  went  shooting  over  the  wheel  like  a  ship  at  a  launch 
rushing  down  her  rollers  into  the  dock,  ploughing  his  way  with 
his  nose  over  the  bricks  in  a  manner  that  was  astonishing  to  be- 
hold. For  this  salutation,  it  is  highly  probable,  I  should  have 
received  in  return  a  furious  drubbing  from  the  incensed  gentleman 
had  not  a  shopkeeper  who  stood  at  his  door  surveying  the  spectacle, 
advised  me  to  retreat  before  the  negro  had  recovered  his  feet,  as- 
suring me  that  he  (the  blacky)  would  have  me  immediately  taken 


94  ADVENTURES    OF 

up  and  carried  before  a  magistrate,  by  whom  I  would  be  heavily 
fined  for  the  liberty  I  had  taken. 

The  name  of  magistrate  was  sufficient  to  put  me  on  my  best  be- 
havior ;  and  I  left  the  place,  accordingly,  without  delay.  But  I 
was  still  so  much  enraged  at  the  insolence  of  these  black  gentry, 
having  never  before  been  accustomed  to  see  any  that  were  not 
very  polite  and  humble  in  their  carriage,  that  I  could  not  resist  an 
impulse,  which  now  seized  me,  to  provide  in  advance  a  suitable 
punishment — that  is,  of  a  character  that  should  not  endanger  my- 
self— for  the  next  one  I  should  happen  to  meet.  Perceiving  a 
tobacconist's  shop  at  my  elbow,  I  entered  it,  and  bought  some 
Scotch  snuff,  and  a  box  to  hold  it  ;  and  it  was  here  that  I  made  the 
discovery  of  my  four  bank-notes  being  counterfeit,  the  tobacconist 
refusing  to  receive  them,  and  even  showing  some  inclination  to 
detain  me  and  send  for  an  officer  to  inquire  how  I  had  got  them  ; 
until  I  appeased  his  distrust  by  producing  one  of  my  Jersey  bills, 
and  relating  how  I  had  been  imposed  upon.  This  man  I  found  to 
be  as  facetious  as  the  cooper.  Upon  my  demanding  if  he  had  any 
very  strong  snuff,  he  replied  with  a  grin — "  he  had  some  so  strong 
the  box  wouldn't  hold  it  ;"  and  when  I  told  him  of  my  mishap 
with  the  pottery,  he  declared  that "  that  was  only  a  way  of  taking 
pot-luck  uninvited."  He  consoled  me  for  the  imposition  practised 
upon  me  with  the  four  notes,  by  saying  that,  "  whatever  we  might 
think  of  them,  they  were  undoubtedly  counterfeit — which  he  sup- 
posed, in  plain  English,  meant  fit  for  the  counter."  In  short,  this 
happy  personage  astounded  me  by  a  multitude  of  quibbles,  which 
he  produced  as  a  hen  does  her  eggs,  with  a  furious  cackle  after 
each  ;  and  then  dismissed  me  with  my  box  of  snuff,  which,  its 
violence  setting  me  sneezing  as  I  left  the  door,  he  declared  was, 
nevertheless,  "  not  to  be  sneezed  at." 

I  had  not  walked  twenty  steps,  before  I  beheld  a  black  fellow 
approaching,  dressed  like  a  dandy,  though  of  the  shabby  genteel 
order,  his  hat  cocked  smartly  on  the  side  of  his  head,  a  rattan  in 
his  hand,  with  which  he  thwacked  his  boots  at  every  second  step, 
with  a  swaggering  gait,  and  a  look  that  said  as  plainly  as  if  lab- 
eled in  show-bill  letters  on  his  nose,  which  was  the  broadest  part 
of  his  countenance,  "  Get  out  of  my  way,  white  man  !" — an  in- 
junction very  dutifully  observed  by  every  well  dressed  white  man 
who  met  him. 

As  for  me,  who  was  not  at  all  disposed  to  yield  him  such  indul- 


EOBIN    DAY.  95 

gence,  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  eager  for  the  encounter,  I 
loosened  the  cover  of  my  snuff-box,  as  if  to  regale  me  with  a 
pinch  ;  and,  pretending  to  look  over  my  shoulder,  as  if  ignorant 
of  his  approach,  continued  to  advance  in  the  middle  of  the  walk, 
until  the  gentleman,  scandalized  at  my  presumption,  and  resolved 
to  punish  it,  suddenly  came  in  contact  with  me  in  such  a  way,  and 
with  such  violence,  as  must  have  prostrated  me,  had  I  not  pre- 
pared myself  for  the  assault.  I  took  advantage  of  the  concussion 
to  tap  the  bottom  of  my  snuff-box,  from  which  the  contents  im- 
mediatly  flew  into  the  rascal's  face,  filling  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  and 
lungs  ;  from  which  last  there  presently  issued  a  most  terrific  yell 
of  surprise  and  anguish,  that  was  followed  by  a  volley  of  shrieks 
and  execrations  without  number,  the  fellow  dancing  about,  in  the 
agony  of  pain  and  blindness,  in  a  manner  highly  consolatory  to 
my  insulted  feelings.  I  .crowned  my  triumph  by  exclaiming,  as  if 
with  indignation  and  rage  at  my  loss,  "  Hang  you,  you  rascal, 
you've  spilled  my  snuff  ?"  With  which  reproach,  that  served  the 
purpose  of  both  explanation  and  apology  for  the  accident,  to  the 
pessons  who  came  crowding  round  the  negro,  I  immediately  took 
my  departure,  turning  into  another  street  and  walking  away  with 
all  the  unconcern  imaginable. 


96  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  short  chapter,  showing  the  inconveniences  of  visiting  the  high 
places  of  hospitality  in  a  tattered  coat,  with  a  pack  on  the  top  of 
it. 

THE  sense  of  gratified  revenge,  added  to  that  of  security  from 
my  foes,  had  a  favorable  effect  on  my  spirits  and  deportment, 
which  latter  was  now  as  stiff  as  might  be  expected  of  a  schoolboy 
entering  upon  the  world  with  a  high  opinion  of  his  own  merits  and 
importance  ;  and  seeing  a  great  hotel,  that  had  the  appearance  of 
being  one  of  the  best  in  the  city,  and  was  therefore  just  the  thing 
to  suit  me,  I  stepped  boldly  in,  and  going  to  the  bar,  demanded  of 
a  dapper  personage  who  stood  therein  and  rested  for  a  moment 
from  his  labor  of  compounding  slings  and  hailstones,  by  throwing 
his  elbows  on  the  bar,  and  his  chin  into  his  hands,  in  which  posi- 
tion he  very  lazily  and  complacently  regarded  the  groups  of  cus- 
tomers scattered  about  the  room — if  I  could  have  lodgings.  The 
gentleman  raised  his  eyes,  without  disturbing  the  economy  of  his 
attitude,  and  surveyed  me  with  a  look  of  placid  inexpressiveness, 
but  made  no  reply  ;  seeing  which,  and  supposing  he  had  not 
heard  me,  I  repeated  the  question.  Upon  this,  he  roused  himself 
so  far  as  to  disengage  his  right  thumb  from  his  cheek,  and  point 
with  it  to  the  door,  eyeing  me  still  with  a  look  that  seemed  to  ex- 
press little  or  nothing,  but  which  I  at  last  understood  to  convey 
an  intimation  that  I  might  go  the  way  I  had  come. 

I  was  so  enraged  and  mortified  at  this  insulting  repulse,  that  my 
first  impulse  was  to  lay  my  staff  over  the  man's  pate  for  his  imper- 
tinence :  but  just  then  I  observed  a  huge  dog  rear  himself  by 
his  fore  paws  behind  the  counter,  and  eye  me  in  a  way  that  con- 
vinced me  it  would  be  dangerous  to  attempt  any  liberties  with 
his  impertinent  master.  To  complete  my  confusion,  I  perceived, 
as  I  turned  to  depart,  that  every  body  was  laughing  at  me,  seem- 
ing to  .be  vastly  diverted  at  the  insolence  of  the  barkeeper,  as 
well  as  my  own  unconcealed  chargin  ;  a  degree  of  cruelty  and 


ROBIN   DAY.  97 

boorishness,  which,  notwithstanding  my  shame,  I  had  yet  the- 
courage  to  reprehend,  by  begging  their  pardon  for  having  intruded 
upon  them,  because,  as  I  said,  "  I  supposed  the  house  was  a  place 
of  resort  for  gentlemen." 

With  this  cut,  which,  in  the  innocency  of  my  heart,  I  supposed 
was  prodigously  witty  and  severe,  but  which  only  made  my  gen- 
tlemen laugh  the  louder,  I  left  the  house,  and  hunted  my  way, 
though  with  less  confidence  than  before*  to  a  second  hotel,  where 
I  met  a  similar  rebuff :  at  least,  the  barkeeper  told  me,  with  a 
sneer,  "  they  never  harbored  runaway  '  prentices  ; "  and  upon  my 
retorting  his  impertinence,  called  a  servant  to  put  me  out  of  the 
house.  A  third  attempt  resulted  in  equal  mortification  ;  and 
having  made  one  or  two  more  efforts,  in  vain,  I  began  fairly  ta 
weep  with  vexation  and  shame ;  for  I  perceived  that  every  body 
regarded  me  with  contempt,  as  being  entirely  unfit  to  be  received 
into  decent  lodgings,  among  genteel  and  respectable  persons. 
This,  I  began  to  suspect,  was  all  owing  to  the  appearance  of  my 
clothes,  which  my  travels  through  the  woods  had  by  no  means 
beautified  ;  and  still  more  to  the  knapsack  I  carried,  the  effect  of 
which,  as  I  could  well  believe,  was  to  give  more  the  air  of  a  ped- 
ler  than  a  gentleman. 

This  consideration,  and  the  mortifications  I  had  already  endured, 
besides  reducing  me  in  my  own  opinion,  and  making  me  feel  very 
forlorn,  caused  me  to  debate  whether  I  should  not  go  to  a  tailor's 
shop,  and  transform  myself  immediately  into  a  gentleman,  or  in- 
quire out  the  residence  of  Mr.  Bloodrrioney,  and  betake  my  self  im- 
mediately to  him  for  advice  and  countenance.  The  latter  alter- 
native appearing  to  me  most  advantageous,  I  summoned  courage 
enough  to  enter  a  little  tavern,  or  chop-house,  to  make  inquiry  ; 
and  finding  myself  courteously  received  by  a  very  greasy,  bluff 
and  mean-looking  personage,  who  appeared  the  master  of  the 
house,  and  met  me  with  a  courteous  demand  what  I  would  have, — 
"  Tripe,  chop,  steak  or  soused  sturgeon  ?" — and  my  appetite  being 
pretty  eager,  I  was  glad  to  preface  my  questions  with  a  dinner 
such  as  the  man  had  to  give  me. 

This  accomplished,  I  asked  after  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  and  received 
such  directions  as,  I  had  no  doubt,  would  enable  me  to  find  his 
house  without  further  assistance  ;  and  as  I  had  now  (not  knowing 
how  better  to  provide  myself)  resolved  to  lodge  in  the  steak-house, 
where  the  greasy  man  assured  me  I  could  have  a  very  decent  bed. 


98  ADVENTURES    OF 

provided  Mr.  Bloodmoney  should  not  direct  me  otherwise,  I  left 
my  knapsack  in  the  man's  charge,  and  set  out  to  report  myself  to 
that  gentleman  ;  who,  mine  host  gave  me  to  understand,  in  a  mali- 
cious way,  was  a  "  great  bug,"  that  is,  a  great  personage,  rolling 
in  wealth  ;  which,  for  his  part,  he  did  not  envy,  because  he  was 
an  honest  man,  who  made  his  money  honestly  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow,  (he  should  have  said  the  grease,)  and  not  by  grinding  the 
face  of  the  poor,  and  sen*ding  out  ships  in  the  slave  trade,  and 
getting  into  banks  and  using  the  people's  money,  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing.  In  short,  my  landlord  was  one  of  those  honest  per- 
sonages who  console  themselves  for  their  poverty  by  abusing  their 
richer  neighbors  ;  which  I  could  see  well  enough :  nevertheless,  I 
thought  this  account  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney  might  be  true,  as  it  is 
not  always  necessary  that  a  rich  and  great  personage  should  be  a 
man  of  honor  and  virtue. 


EOBLN   DAY.  99 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Robin  goes  in  quest  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney ;  and  how  he  fares  in 
the  hands  of  that  gentleman. 

It  was  already  evening  when  I  set  out;  and  Mr.  Bloodmoney's 
house  being  at  a  considerable  distance,  it  was  dark  before  I 
reached  the  street  in  which  he  resided,  and  endeavored,  in  the 
light  of  the  lamps,  to  discover  his  dwelling. 

While  I  was  engaged  in  the  search,which  was  the  more  difficult  be- 
cause the  houses  were  all  built  after  the  same  pattern,  and  none  of 
them  furnished  with  door-plates — for,  it  seemed,  the  citizens  resid- 
ing in  this  quarter  were  too  great  and  distinguished  to  suppose 
anybody  in  the  world  could  require  such  vulgar  guides  to  their 
mansions — I  had  the  misfortune  to  run  against  a  man  who  was 
hurrying  by ;  by  which  accident  both  of  us  were  staggered  and 
well  nigh  overthrown.  The  stranger,  who,  although  a  stout  and 
muscular  personage,  and  received  the, greater  damage,  ripped  out 
a  dreadful  oath,  and  demanded  what  I  meant  by  running  against 
him,  the  question  being  asked  in  such  a  ferocious  style  of  bullying 
and  profanity,  that  I  stood  aghast,  and  began,  as  soon  as  I  could 
gather  the  breath  which  had  been  knocked  out  of  my  body,  to 
stammer  forth  excuses  and  apologies,  assuring  him,  in  my  confu- 
sion, that  I  had  been  so  intently  occupied  looking  for  Mr.  Blood- 
money's  house,  that  I  had  forgotten  everything  else,  and  so  failed 
to  notice  his  approach ;  and  upon  his  demanding,  which  he  did 
with  some  appearance  of  surprise,  and  another  oath,  what  I  wanted 
with  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  I  replied,  with  great  frankness  (for  I 
thought,  from  his  tone,  he  must  be  an  acquaintance  of  the  gentle- 
man, and  might  therefore  direct  me  to  his  house),  that  I  had  a 
letter  for  him  from  his  friend  and  kinsman,  Dr.  Howard;  and,  in- 
deed, I  had  it  in  my  hand  at  the  moment,  having  taken  it  from  my 
pocket  on  arriving  at  the  square. 

"  My  friend,  Dr.  Howard  ?  "  cried  the  gentleman,  with  another 
oath,  though  in  tones  somewhat  more  amiable  ;  and,  as  he  spoke, 


100  ADVENTURES    OF 

he  whisked  the  letter  out  of  my  hand,  and  advanced  to  a  lamp  to 
read  it,  assuring  me,  to  my  amazement,  that  I  had  lighted  upon 
my  man,  Mr.  Bloodmoney  himself. 

While  I  was  wondering  both  at  the  oddness  of  the  encounter, 
and  the  singular  conversation,  manners,  and  appearance  of  the 
gentleman,  which  did  not  at  all  answer  the  opinions  I  had  con- 
ceived of  him,  he  opened  the  letter,  withdrew  the  inclosure,  con- 
sisting of  several  bank-notes,  which,  with  a  hearty  and  approving 
malediction  on  his  blood  and  the  lamplight,  he  transferred  to  his 
pocket,  and  then  made  an  effort  to  read  the  letter  ;  but  this  was 
rendered  vain  by  the  insufficiency  of  the  light  and  the  impatience 
of  the  reader,  who  to  every  word  he  succeeded  in  spelling  out, 
added  a  running  commentary  of  execrations  on  the  crabbedness  of 
the  chirography.  Nevertheless,  with  the  help  of  an  occasional 
hint  from  myself,  he  made  out  enough  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  application,  of  which  he  expressed  his  approval  by  observ- 
ing, that,  "  when  one  was  too  big  a  rascal  for  the  land,  the  sea  was 
the  only  place  for  making  him  a  gentleman  ; "  and  then  asked 
whether  I  had  been  "breaking  a  strong-box  or  slicing  a  wea- 
sand?" 

I  replied,  with  some  spirit — being,  indeed,  affected  by  the  un- 
savory nature  of  these  inuendoes — "  that  I  was  no  such  contemp- 
tible villain  as  he  seemed  to  consider  me,  and  knew  nothing  of 
broken  strong-boxes  or  sliced  weasands,  but  had  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  kill  a  tyrannical  schoolmaster,  or  at  the  least,  to  beat  him 

within  an  ace  of  his  life  ;  for  which  it  was  thought ."  But 

here  Mr.  Bloodmoney  burst  into  a  laugh,  shook  me  by  the  hand, 
and  swore  I  was  a  fine  fellow  and  should  have  a  berth  in  the  Love- 
ly Nancy,  which,  it  appeared,  was  the  name  of  his  privateer.  This 
declaration  he  accompanied  by  asking,  "  how  I  stood  furnished  in 
the  locker,"  or,  as  he  afterwards  expressed  it,  "  what  funds  I  had 
for  my  outfit  ;"  and  upon  my  intimating,  that,  besides  the  sum  con- 
tained in  the  letter,  my  patron  would  supply  me  further,  accord- 
ing as  he  himself  should  direct,  he  swore,  with  every  appearance 
of  satisfaction,  that  he — that  is,  my  patron,  his  friend  and  kinsman 
— was  "  the  right  sort  of  an  old  hunks,"  and  invited  me  to  follow 
him  to  a  tavern,  to  discuss  the  matter  at  leisure.  I  was  surprised 
he  did  not  take  me  to  his  house,  which  was  so  near  ;  but  perceiv- 
ing from  his  conversation  that  he  was  an  odd  sort  of  personage,  I 
followed  at  his  heels  without  demur,  and  was  led  by  him  into  a 


EOBIN     DAY.  J   //^  -         ;       $ 

very  mean  by-street  and  a  mean-looking  house ;  which  he,  how- 
ever, declared  was  a  snug  and  respectable  place,  fit  enough  for  our 
business.  Here  he  ordered  a  room,  with  a  supper,  which,  being  a 
very  extemporary  one  of  steaks  and  oysters,  entered  the  room 
nearly  as  soon  as  ourselves  ;  and  being  garnished  with  a  flagon  of 
ale  and  a  bottle  of  wine,  was  attacked  by  him  with  a  zeal  and  en- 
ergy that  struck  me  with  as  much  surprise  as  I  felt  at  his  personal 
appearance,  now  revealed  in  the  light  of  two  tallow  candles  for  the 
first  time.  He  was  a  middle-sized  man,  but  very  muscular,  as  I 
mentioned  before,  dressed  in  clothes,  which,  though  of  good  blue 
broad-cloth,  were  none  of  the  newest  or  handsomest,  and  looked 
out  of  place  upon  him,  who,  I  could  not  help  thinking,  had  the  air 
of  a  sailor  in  landsman's  toggery  ;  for  which  opinion  there  was 
the  better  reason,  as  his  conversation  had  throughout  a  strong 
smack  of  the  sea.  His  countenance  was  bold,  and  alternately  re- 
pulsive and  prepossessing  ;  being  now  open  and  jocund,  and  now, 
if  he  but  chanced  to  purse  his  brows  together,  as  black  and  glum 
as  Satan's.  His  skin  was  very  dark,  but  I  thought  there  was  some- 
thing of  a  sickly  hue  about  it,  as  if  he  had  but  recently  risen  from 
a  sick  bed  ;  though  it  was  clear  enough,  from  the  strength  of  his 
appetite,  that  his  disease  was  now  entirely  banished.  He  was  a 
man  of  forty-five  or  more,  and  his  hair,  which  was  very  long  and 
bushy,  and  had  been  a  jet  black,  was  now  becoming  grizzled  and 
frosty. 

It  struck  me,  as  I  surveyed  the  gentleman,  that  I  had  seen  him 
before,  and  so,  in  the  innocence  of  my  heart,  I  told  him,  adding, 
that  I  supposed  it  must  have  been  in  former  years,  at  my  patron's 
house.  "Ay,  ay,"  he  mumbled  out  of  a  corner  of  his  mouth, 
which  was  too  full  of  provender  to  admit  an  easy  reply — "  remem- 
"ber  you  well — a  young  porpoise-faced  baboon;  always  told  your 
father  you'd  bring  up  at  the  gallows." 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  glad  to  escape  the  compliment,  "the  Doctor  is  not 
my  father,  and  you  must  mean  his  son,  Tommy,  who  was  drowned 
five  years  ago." 

To  this  all  that  Mr.  Bloodmoney  designed  to  reply  was,  "  Was 

he,  d him?"  his  further  expressions  of  sympathy  being  cut 

short  by  a  mouthful  of  oysters. 

Having  finished  his  supper  and  swallowed  a  tumbler  of  wine  to 
fortify  the  ale  which  he  had  previously  got  rid  of,  he  looked  up 
and  honored  me  with  a  stare,  which  was  first  severe,  then  wild — 


,1012  ADVENTURES    OP 

or  so  I  thought  it,  for  it  seemed  to  express  inquiry  mingled  with 
astonishment — and  then  became  placid  and  pleasant;  and  in  this 
frame  he  continued  looking  me  in  the  face  for  a  minute  or  more, 
and  then,  bursting  into  a  sudden  and  furious  fit  of  laughter,  ex- 
claimed, as  soon  as  the  convulsion  was  over,  "And  so  you  were 
drowned  five  years  ago,  split  me  ?" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  I,  perceiving  the  gentleman  had  been  in  a  reverie, 
and  was  not  yet  well  out  of  it;  "it  was  my  friend  Tommy." 

"Oh,  ay!  what  was  I  thinking  of  !"  cried  he,  with  another  peal, 
which  having  indulged,  he  produced  and  read  aloud  my  patron's 
letter,  in  which  Mr.  Bloodmoney  was  entreated  to  send  me  to  sea 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  draw  upon  him  for  any  sum  necessary 
for  my  outfit,  the  amount  inclosed  (which,  I  believe  was  a  hundred 
dollars,)  being  all  that  the  hurry  of  the  occasion  enabled  him  to 
despatch  with  me.  "  Talks  like  a  ship's  pig  !"  grumbled  the  gen- 
tleman, by  way  of  comment;  "ought  to  have  sent  five  hundred  or 
a  thousand;  and  might  just  as  easy  as  not.  Here,  you,  shipmate," 
he  added,  addressing  me,  "  you,  Timothy  Howell,  or  what's  your 
name, " 

"My  name,"  said  I,  "is  Robin  Day." 

"  Very  well — you  Robin  Day,  write  home  to  my  cousin  Howell 
— what's  his  name  ?  Howard,  split  me  !  I  could  never  bear  it  in 
mind,  two  glasses  at  a  time,  because  how,  Howell  comes  more 
natural;  write  home,  curse  me,  and  tell  him  to  send  you  all  the 
money  he  can  raise,  d'ye  see,  from  five  hundred  up — the  more  the 
better." 

"  Sure,"  said  I,  "I  thought  it  would  not  take  so  much  to  fit  me 
out! " 

"  To  fit  out  a  cook's  mate,  or  a  powder-monkey,"  said  Mr.  Blood- 
money,  with  an  air  of  disdain,  "  or,  mayhap,  a  runt  of  a  midship- 
man, with  a  head  all  rat-licked.  Hark  you,  my  skilligallee,  you've 
sunk  a  schoolmaster;  it's  a  sign  of  blood,  and  I  like  you;  for  I  did 
the  same  thing  in  my  young  days,  only  that  I  blew  the  dog  up  with 
gunpowder,  and  left  him  as  blind  as  a  barnacle  for  life.  Get  the 
money,  split  me,  and  I'll  make  a  man  of  you,  and  bring  you  home 
with  a  swab  on  your  shoulder,  and  a  whole  ,ship-load  of  prize 
money.  'Pon  my  soul  and  conscience,  split  me,  I'll  make  you  a 
lieutenant,  and  take  you  into  the  cabin  with  me." 

I  was  surprised  to  hear  him  talk  thus,  and  told  him  I  had  no  idea 
he  ever  commanded  any  of  his  vessels  himself.  "  Brought  up  to 


ROBIN   DAY.  103 

it,"  said  the  gentleman,  who  seemed  to  be  a  little  flustered  with 
the  wine,  which  had  vanished  as  fast  as  the  ale ;  "  began  a  boy 
before  the  mast,  and  learned  to  smell  fire  with  them  that  knew 
how  to  teach  me — I  did,  split  me.  I  won't  say  nothing ;  but  I 
say,  my  lark,  you've  heard  of  Captain  Hellcat?  "  I  was  obliged  to 
inform  him  I  had  not;  at  which  he  seemed  both  surprised  and  of- 
fended, assuring  me  that  Captain  Hellcat  was  the  greatest  man 
that  ever  boarded  an  enemy,  and  I  nothing  more  than  a  green  gos- 
ling that  knew  not  so  much  as  whether  my  nose  pointed  North  or 
South  of  a  Sunday;  in  fact,  upon  reflection,  I  found  that  I  had 
heard  of  some  such  worthy,  as  I  now  confessed,  but  said  I  believed 
he  was  a  pirate.  This  Mr.  Bloodmoney  very  readily  admitted, 
but  swore  he  was  an  honest  fellow  for  all,  and  a  brave  one;  and 
seemed  to  intimate,  as  far  as  I  could  understand  his  language, 
which  was  frequently  too  nautical  for  my  comprehension,  that  he 
had  acquired  a  portion  of  his  naval  art  under  that  honest  com- 
mander, could  navigate  and  fight  a  ship  as  well  as  any  body,  and 
would  go  to  sea,  if  he  felt  in  the  humor,  he  would,  split  him. 

With  that,  he  ate  an  ounce  or  two  of  cabbage,  as  he  said,  to  lay 
the  liquor;  asked  me  where  I  put  up,  and  being  told,  commended 
my  prudence  in  avoiding  the  public  hotels ;  bade  me  write  for  more 
money,  and  keep  myself  in  quiet  till  I  received  it ;  assured  me 
I  should  hear  from  him,  and  ended  by  knocking  for  a  waiter,  ask- 
ing what  was  the  reckoning,  and  bidding  me  pay  it;  which  hav- 
ing directed,  and,  truly,  it  was  directed  with  all  coolness  and  equa- 
nimity, he  walked  out  of  the  room  and  the  house,  leaving  me 
astounded  at  the  oddness  of  his  character. 

I  paid  the  bill  as  directed,  though  I  did  not  think  Mr.  Bloodmoney 
showed  either  hospitality  or  good  breeding  in  making  me  do  so,  and 
still  less  in  not  having  once  invited  me  to  his  house,  nor  even  offered 
me  protection  from  the  inveteracy  of  my  pursuers. 

On  the  whole,  I  was  greatly  disappointed  in  the  gentleman,  and 
felt  so  little  inclination  to  take  a  voyage  with  him,  or  withany  cap- 
tainin  his  employ,  that  I  was  now  resolved,  provided  I  might  by  any 
happy  chance  light  upon  Dicky  Dare,  to  unite  my  fortunes  with  his, 
turn  soldier  with  him,  and  trust  to  the  eloquence  of  the  representa- 
tion I  should  make,  to  obtain  forgiveness  of  my  patron. 

While  pondering  thus,  returning  to  my  lodgings,  on  Dicky 
Dare,  and  debating  what  steps  I  could  most  safely  take  to  discover 
him,  provided  he  had,  like  me,  escaped  the  wagoners,  I  found 


104  ADVENTURES     OF 

myself  in  front  of  a  theatre;  and  remembering  that  Dicky  had 
expressed  on  the  road  a  great  desire  to  rest  in  Philadelphia  for  a 
few  days,  were  it  only  for  the  sake  of  visiting  these  temples  of 
Thespis,  I  bought  me  a  ticket  and  entered,  in  the  hope  that  I 
might  light  upon  my  lost  friend  within.  I  had,  I  must  confess, 
some  fear  lest  I  should  stumble  upon  a  less  desirable  acquaintance, 
perhaps  a  New  Jersey  constable,  with  a  warrant  for  my  apprehen- 
sion in  his  hand  ;  but  the  wine  I  had  swallowed  gave  me  courage, 
and  I  was  too  anxious  to  find  my  comrade,  not  to  be  willing  to 
encounter  a  little  risk.  My  fears,  however,  returned  when  I  found 
myself  in  the  house,  exposed  to  a  blaze  of  lamps,  and  to  the  eyes 
of  a  countless  number  of  gaily  dressed  people,  all  of  whom,  I 
thought,  were  looking  at  me  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  I  retreated 
for  safety  to  the  darkest  corner  of  the  remotest  box,  where  I  lay 
perdu  during  the  whole  of  the  representation,  of  which  I  heard 
but  little  and  saw  less  ;  for,  in  fact,  I  had  no  sooner  recovered 
from  my  fears,  than  I  fell  sound  asleep,  being  very  weary  and 
heavy,  and  so  remained  to  the  end  of  the  afterpiece ;  when  I  was 
waked  by  the  noise  of  the  audience  getting  up  and  leaving  the 
house.  I  departed  with  them,  and  was  surprised,  while  making 
my  way  to  my  lodgings,  to  hear  the  clocks  striking  midnight. 


EOBIN   DAY.  105 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Robin  Day  is  turned  out  of  his  lodgings,  and  hospitably  invited  to 
the  house  of  a  friend. 

I  MADE  my  way  without  any  difficulty  to  the  chop-house,  which, 
I  had  been  in  fear,  from  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  I  should  find 
closed.  I  found  it,  however,  open  and  filled  with  guests,  who 
were,  in  general,  of  such  a  mean,  and  some  of  them  of  so 
raggamuffinly  an  appearance,  and  were,  besides,  drinking  and 
carousing  in  so  noisy  and  riotous  a  manner,  that  I  was  filled 
with  disgust,  and  repented  that  I  had  not  searched  out  a  better 
lodging. 

Nor  was  my  uneasiness  abated,  when  I  ascended  to  the  chamber 
where  I  was  to  sleep,  and  found  it  full  of  beds,  in  some  of  which 
lodgers  were  already  soundly  snoring,  men,  to  all  appearance,  of 
a  class  no  better  than  the  roisterers  below.  I  liked  not  the  idea  of 
sleeping  in  such  company  ;  and  even  feared  I  might  among  them 
be  robbed  before  morning.  Upon  examining  my  wallet,  however, 
I  found  my  apprehensions  were,  in  this  particular,  entirely  su- 
perfluous, and  for  the  best  reason  in  the  world — namely,  that  I 
was  robbed  already  ;  the  wallet,  which  was  without  lock  and  key, 
and  only  secured  by  straps  and  buttons,  having  been  opened  in  my 
absence,  and  plundered  of  the  few  little  articles  of  dress  it  had 
contained. 

Counfounded  and  enraged  at  this  discovery,  I  proceeded  to  the 
bar-room,  where  I  preferred  a  complaint  to  mine  host,  exhibiting 
the  empty  pack  as  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  charge  ;  and  mine 
host  was  instantly  in  as  great  a  passion  as  myself.  The  only  diffi- 
culty was,  that,  instead  of  being  in  a  rage  with,  he  was  in  a  pas- 
sion at  me,  swearing,  with  great  volubility,  that  the  charge  was  a 
slander  upon  his  house,  and  him — not  to  speak  of  his  lodgers  and 
guests,  who  were  as  honest  people  as  any  in  the  world  ;  and  his 
guests — that  Is,  such  of  them  as  were  drinking  in  the  bar-room — 
taking  part  against  me,  there  was  presently  a  furious  quarrel  be- 


106  ADVENTURES    OF 

gun,  some  accusing  me  of  robbing  myself,  others  of  robbing  the 
sleepers  up  stairs,  while  a  third  class  went  the  length  of  insisting 
that  I  had  robbed  the  landlord,  if  not  even  themselves  ;  and  all 
agreed  that  I  ought  either  to  be  taken  in  hand  by  themselves  and 
flogged  on  the  spot,  or  given  over  to  the  watch  ;  both  which  pen- 
alties, I  believe  in  my  conscience,  would  have  been  enforced 
against  me,  had  not  one  vagabond,  who  was  wiser  and  more  hu- 
mane than  the  rest,  proposed  a  new  punishment,  which  was  that 
I  should  treat  the  company  o  a  gallon  of  gin,  and  then  be  turned 
out  of  the  house.  And  this  penalty  w^as  straightway  put  into  exe- 
cution, the  company  being  treated  to  a  glass  all  round  at  my  ex- 
pense (for  I  found  I  should  be  maltreated,  if  I  refused  to  pay), 
and  myself,  the  moment  the  libation  was  made  and  accounted  for, 
turned  neck  and  heels  out  of  doors. 

I  was  in  a  frenzy  of  rage  at  this  vile  and  ignominious  usage,  and 
felt,  for  a  moment,  inclined  to  call  the  watch,  and  give  the  whole 
company  into  charge  of  the  authorities  ;  but  a  moment's  re- 
flection satisfied  me  that  my  hard  fate  did  not  permit  me  to  in- 
dulge in  the  sweets  of  revenge  ;  since  the  probability  was  that, 
whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  my  oppressors,  when  brought  before 
the  Mayor,  I  should  myself  remain  a  victim  in  his  hands.  I  was 
constrained,  therefore,  to  rest  satisfied  with  such  smaller  revenge 
as  I  had  it  in  my  power  to  enjoy  ;  and  this  I  effected  by  launch- 
ing a  brickbat  through  the  window  of  the  bar-room  into  the  midst 
of  the  revellers  ;  and,  judging  by  the  direful  tumult  that  imme- 
diately ensued,  I  must  have  done  considerable  execution  among 
them  ;  though  this  I  did  not  wait  to  ascertain,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, took  to  my  heels  and  ran,  until  persuaded  I  was  no  longer 
in  danger  of  pursuit. 

And  now  I  began  to  be  in  despair,  not  knowing  whither  to  di- 
rect my  steps,  or  where  to  seek  for  shelter  in  all  this  great  and  in- 
hospitable city  ;  when,  by  and  by,  my  thoughts  happily  reverted 
to  the  little  tavern  where  I  had  supped  with  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  and 
which,  although  of  an  appearance  not  a  whit  better  than  the  chop- 
house,  was  yet,  as  Mr.  Bloodmoney  had  said,  a  very  decent  sort  of 
place,  where  I  might,  perhaps,  procure  a  bed,  provided  its  doors 
were  still  open. 

Thither,  accordingly,  I  resolved  to  make  my  way  ;  and  I  pro- 
ceeded with  greater  speed,  as  I  perceived  that  foul  weather  was 
brewing,  with  every  appearance  of  a  furious  storm.  Indeed,  it 


ROBIN    DAY.  107 

had  been  cloudy  all  the  evening,  and  a  gale  of  wind  was  already 
blowing,  though  as  yet  without  rain  ;  but  before  I  had  gone  much 
more  than  half  the  distance,  it  began  to  fall  in  showers,  that  grew 
every  moment  heavier  and  more  frequent,  so  that  I  was  by  and 
by  soaked  to  the  skin. 

To  add  to  my  distress,  I  became  aware,  after  a  time,  that,  what 
with  the  darkness  and  my  hurry,  I  had  missed  my  way,  and  knew 
not  how  to  regain  it,  unless  by  betaking  myself  to  a  watchman  ; 
which  I  was  loth  to  do,  as  I  thought  that  the  chances  were  that 
lie  would  take  me  up  as  a  vagrant,  and  introduce  me  to  lodgings  I 
should  like  still  less  than  those  in  the  chop-house.  As  for  asking 
assistance  of  other  persons  in  the  street,  which  I  was  well  enough 
disposed  to  do,  there  was  the  great  difficulty  that  no  such  persons 
were  to  be  found,  it  being  now  after  one  o'clock,  and  the  streets 
as  solitary  as  the  walks  of  a  graveyard,  in  which  I  was  the  only 
ghost  that  roamed.  The  winds  blew,  the  lightnings  gleamed,  the 
rains  fell,  the  spouts  rattled,  the  gutters  gurgled,  the  shutters 
clattered,  but  I  had  it  all  to  myself,  and  bade  fair  to  have  it  so  all 
night,  being  monarch  of  all  I  surveyed,  the  storm  and  the  city, 
without,  however,  being  the  master  of  so  much  as  a  straw  bed. 

In  this  exigency,  whilst  I  was  now  bewailing  and  now  cursing 
my  fate,  which  I  began  to  consider  the  hardest  in  the  world,  now 
tumbling  over  a  curbstone,  and  now  plumping  into  a  gutter,  and 
all  the  while  shivering  with  cold  and  despair,  it  was  my  hap  to 
discover,  when  I  least  expected  it,  a  man  who  seemed  to  be  a  way- 
farer like  myself,  and  no  watchman — and,  in  truth,  I  had  seen  but 
little  of  the  guardians  of  the  night  since  the  storm  began. 

As  the  individual  was  at  a  distance  and  only  revealed  to  me  by 
a  flash  of  lightning,  I  was  obliged  to  run  forward  to  overtake  him, 
which  I  soon  did,  and  then  asked  him,  with  a  voice  all  chattering 
with  cold,  if  he  could  direct  me  where  Mr.  Bloodmoney  lived  ; 
not  that  I  wished  to  find  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house  in  particular, 
but  I  knew,  when  once  in  the  street  where  it  stood,  I  could  make 
my  own  way  to  the  little  tavern.  To  this  question  the  gentleman 
answered  by  discharging  a  terrible  oath  that  was  directed  espe- 
cially against  his  eyes  and  blood,  and  asking,  ejaculatorily, 
"  whether  the  devils  were  all  broke  loose  ?"  and  "  what  I  wanted 
with  Mr.  Bloodmoney  ?" 

I  thought  I  knew  the  voice  ;  and,  indeed,  a  sheet  of  lightning 
now  bursting  over  the  sky  and  revealing  his  features,  I  saw  to  my 


108  ADVENTURES    OF 

surprise  that  I  had  fallen  a  second  time  upon  Mr.  Bloodmoney 
himself. 

He  seemed,  on  his  part,  quite  as  much  surprised,  and  demanded, 
with  another  choice  execration,  "  what  I  was  doing  in  the  street, 
swimming  about  like  a  lost  tadpole  ?" 

I  replied  that  I  had  been  turned  out  of  my  lodgings,  at  which 
he  was  prodigiously  diverted  ;  but  he  laughed  still  more  when  I 
told  him  how  my  knapsack  had  been  rifled  ;  though  he  expressed 
some  indignation  at  that,  and  swore  that  robbery  was  becoming 
intolerably  frequent,  and  that  strangers  in  a  city  were  plundered 
and  imposed  upon  by  everybody — especially  young  ones. 

I  then  told  him  how  I  had  lost  my  way  in  attempting  to  find  the 
little  tavern,  in  which  if  I  could  not  procure  admission,  I  must 
walk  the  streets  in  the  rain  all  night,  as  I  knew  not  how  else  to 
help  myself. 

This  I  uttered  in  a  very  dolorous  tone  ;  but  its  only  effect  was 
to  increase  the  mirth  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  who  told  me  I  was  "  a 
pig  in  a  strange  latitude,"  with  other  expressions,  which,  from 
their  abounding  with  salt-water  technicalities,  I  did  not  exactly 
understand.  He  concluded,  however,  by  declaring,  in  a  sudden  fit 
of  hospitality,  at  which  I  was  both  surprised  and  pleased,  that  as 
he  saw  I  was  no  more  capable  of  taking  care  of  myself  than  an 
unshelled  oyster,  he  would  carry  me  to  his  own  house,  and  see 
what  he  could  do  for  me  ;  and  this  resolution  he  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  put  into  execution  by  bidding  me  follow  him,  and  lead- 
ing the  way  to  the  square  in  which  he  lived.  This,  as  it  proved, 
was  at  no  great  distance,  and  I  had  soon  the  satisfaction  of  finding 
myself  at  the  corner  of  the  street  where  was  a  watchman's  box 
that  I  had  noticed  before.  As  we  passed  it  by,  I  perceived  the 
wind  had  blown  the  door  open  and  exposed  the  watchman  sitting 
sound  asleep  ;  which  being  noticed  by  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  he  closed 
the  door,  "  to  keep  the  rain,"  as  he  said,  with  a  smothered  laugh,. 
"  from  blowing  in  the  poor  fellow's  face  ;"  though  he  immediately 
after  swore  "it  was  a  rascally  thing  for  the  man  to  be  thus 
snoozing  away  the  night,  who  was  so  well  paid  for  guarding  the 
property  of  the  citizens  ;"  adding  that  such  negligence  encour- 
aged, and  even  invited  burglary,  and  that  he  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  some  of  the  neighbors  had  their  houses  robbed  that  very 
night. 


KOBIN   DAY.  109 


CHAPTER    XX. 

He  finds  himself  in  Mr.  Bloodmoney^s  house,  who  makes  great 
preparations  to  entertain  him. 

As  we  walked  towards  the  house,  which  was  now  nigh  at  hand, 
Mr.  Bloodmoney  gave  me  to  understand  there  was  sickness  in  his 
family,  his  wife  being  ill  with  a  nervous  fever,  or  "  some  such 
cursed  out-of-sortishness,"  as  he  called  it,  which  he  mentioned, 
he  said,  not  merely  as  a  caution  against  making  any  noise  after 
we  should  have  entered,  but  as  an  excuse  for  the  badness  of  the 
entertainment  I  might  expect,  since,  as  his  servants  were,  by  this 
time,  all  fast  asleep  in  bed,  and  could  not  be  roused — nor,  indeedj 
do  anything,  if  roused — without  making  such  a  clatter  as  must 
drive  his  wife  distracted,  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  wait 
upon  ourselves.  I  hastened  to  assure  him  I  should  be  very  care- 
ful in  obeying  his  injunctions,  and  begged  that  no  trouble  might 
be  taken  on  my  account,  since  all  I  desired  was  a  bed  to  sleep  in 
and  some  means  of  drying  my  clothes,  the  two  robberies  together 
having  left  me  no  others  to  shift  myself. 

"  It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good,"  quoth  Mr.  Blood- 
money,  laughing  ;  and  then  added,  with  another  of  the  oaths 
without  which  he  seemed  incapable  of  conducting  any  conversa- 
tion, "  If  the  sack  is  empty,  so  much  the  better,  for  I  shall  fill  it 
with  such  a  freight  as  it  never  carried  before  ;  I  will,  split  me  !  " 

With  that,  Mr.  Bloodmoney  ascended  a  suite  of  marble  steps 
leading  to  the  door  of  a  very  magnificent  house — that  is,  magnifi- 
cent so  far  as  size  was  concerned  ;  but,  otherwise,  it  looked  like  a 
barn,  being  nothing  but  a  great  flat  wall  of  red  bricks,  broken 
only  by  the  windows,  door,  and  a  petticoat  of  white  marble  below, 
there  being  not  one  pennyworth  of  architectural  design,  or  orna- 
ment of  any  kind,  to  be  seen  on  any  part  of  it,  this  being  the  ap- 
proved fashion  of  building  fine  houses  in  Philadelphia.  Here, 
bidding  me  "belay  my  jaw,"  for  I  was  venturing  a  remark  up- 
on the  storm,  which  was  now  raging  with  increased  violence,  and 


110  ADVENTURES    OF 

pouring  a  deluge  of  rain,  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  with  a  key,  essayed 
the  door,  which,  not  opening  as  readily  as  he  wished,  he  so  far 
forgot  his  own  injunctions  as  to  let  fly  a  multitude  of  execrations, 
first  upon  the  door,  then  the  key,  and  finally  upon  himself,  all 
which  and  whom  he  abused  with  equal  fervor  ;  and  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  consigning  himself  to  what  he  called  "the  home  of  all 
the  hellcats "  before  the  door  finally  yielded  to  his  efforts  and 
let  us  in. 

This  happy  success  he  signalized  by  d g  his  blood,  and 

then  closed  and  secured  the  door,  which  being  effected,  he  bade 
me  follow  him,  and  we  groped  our  way  along  a  dark  passage, 
and  thence  into  a  dark  room,  where,  however,  was  a  smoldering 
fire  of  coals  twinkling  in  a  grate,  which  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  who 
was  also  pretty  well  drenched  with  rain,  seemed  as  happy  as  my- 
self to  see.  He  bade  me  hold  fast  at  the  door  until  he  had  got  a 
light,  which  he  obtained  by  first  kindling  a  paper  match  at  the 
fire,  and  then  a  brace  of  wax  candles  that  stood  in  a  branch 
over  the  mantel. 

In  this  light,  I  pergeived  we  were  in  a  very  spacious  saloon, 
opening,  by  means  of  folding  leaves,  that  were  wide  spread,  into 
another  of  equal  size,  and  both  of  them  furnished  with  a  luxury, 
sumptuousness  and  splendor,  that  struck  me  dumb  with  admiration, 
for  I  had  never  dreamed  that  such  gorgeousness  was  found  in  anv 
but  a  princely  palace,  much  less  in  the  dwelling  of  a  plain  demo- 
cratic American  citizen.  The  rich  carpets,  the  huge  mirrors,  in 
massive  carved  frames,  extending  from  the  ceiling  to  the  floor,  the 
dark  antique-looking  pictures  in  frames  as  rich  and  solid,  the  win- 
dow draperies  of  satin  and  fine  lace,  the  chairs  and  ottomans, 
with  cushions  covered  with  crimson  velvet,  the  lamps  and  chande- 
liers of  dead  gold,  the  branches,  brackets,  mantel  vases,  and  other 
ornaments,  made  up  a  spectacle  that  both  delighted  and  confound 
ed  me.  It  was  to  me  almost  a  scene  of  fairy-land,  for  my  bene- 
factor, Dr.  Howard,  though  very  rich,  never  dreamed  of  indulg- 
ing in  such  luxurious  display,  either  because  he  did  not  care  for 
it,  or  was  afraid  of  incurring  the  envy  and  hatred  of  his  less 
affluent  neighbors  by  too  greatly  eclipsing  them  in  state.  In  fact, 
it  daunted  me,  and  I  felt  both  ashamed  and  afraid  to  mov%  in  my 
drenched  and  squalid  condition,  among  so  many  objects  of  splen- 
dor, until  the  lord  of  the  mansion,  who  seemed  to  survey  the  spec- 
tacle with  infinite  satisfaction,  as  being  fully  conscious  of  all  its 


ROBIN   DAY.  Ill 

advantages,  beckoned  me  forward  to  help  him  replenish  the  fire 
from  a  coal-scuttle  that  the  servants  had  left  standing  hard  by, 
either  for  the  convenience  of  their  master,  who  was,  doubtless, 
accustomed  to  be  out  late  at  nights,  or  to  lessen  their  own  labors 
in  making  the  morning  fires.  The  coal  being  bituminous,  was  soon 
in  a  blaze,  though,  from  our  anxiety  to  avoid  noise  and  disturb- 
ance, we  were  some  time  in  putting  it  on  ;  and  we  had,  after  a 
while,  a  fine  roaring  fire,  which  our  wet  clothes  and  the  coolness 
of  the  night  made  uncommonly  agreeable. 

My  eccentric  host  noticed  the  looks  of  approbation  I  still  cast 
about  me,  whereupon  he  muttered,  with  an  encouraging  grin, 
"  Fine  harbor  to  moor  in,  eh  ?  All  made  on  blue  water,  with  a 
cast  or  two  in  soundings.  The  sea's  the  place,  my  lad — the  true 
Spanish  mine  that  you  might  poke  Potosi,  Golgotha,  or  whatever 
you  call  it  "  (I  suppose  he  meant  Golconda),  "  and  Gopher,  and 
the  Gold  Coast,  and  all  the  rest  of  your  dry-land  mines  in,  and 
never  find  them  again.  D — n  my  blood,  you  Powel — what's  your 
name  ?  "  "  Robin  Day,  sir,"  I  put  in.  "  Very  well  ;  half  a  dozen 
voyages  or  so,  and  you're  made  for  life  ;  just  such  a  snuggery 
(Sailor's  Rest,  eh?),  a  bank  of  money,  a  nervous  wife,  and  seven 
squalling  hell's-kitten  children,  blast  'em,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
good  things,  split  me,  provided  Davy  Jones  don't  claim  you  for 
supper  beforehand.  And  talking  of  supper,  if  I  could  but  light 
upon  one  of  the  niggers,  I  could  eat  one — that  is,  a  supper,  and 
not  a  nigger,  though,  upon  a  pinch,  I  shouldn't  make  mouths  at 
a  young  one,  seeing  that  I  once  ate  a  whole  leg  off  one,  in  a  small 
boat,  for  want  of  something  better,  split  me  !  " 

With  that,  the  gentleman,  complaining  there  was  not  light  enough 
to  see  by,  got  upon  a  chair  and  lighted  a  chandelier  depending  from 
the  ceiling,  which  done,  he  swore  he  must  have  something  to  drink 
or  die  for  it,  and  began  to  rummage  about,  and  at  the  first  attempt 
produced  the  remains  of  a  bottle  of  Rhenish  wine,  that  stood 
on  a  sideboard,  and  seemed  to  have  been  very  recently  opened. 
This  he  pronounced  cursed  wish-wash — bilgewater  and  vinegar — 
but,  nevertheless,  took  a  hearty  draught  of  it,  handing  me  the  re- 
mainder, and  assuring  me  it  was  "  poor  stuff,  indeed,  but  milk  for 
babes."  He  then,  in  the  search  for  something  better  and  stronger, 
made  an  attempt  upon  the  sideboard  with  a  key  taken  from  a  huge 
bunch  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  and,  while  trying  one  after  another, 
until  he  hit  upon  the  right  one,  he  took  occasion  to  inform  me 


112  ADVENTURES    OF 

"  there  was  no  trusting  servants,  especially  the  nigger  ones ;  that 
there  was  nothing  would  keep  them  out  of  mischief,  except  lock- 
ing every  thing  up ,  and,  finally,  that  he  was  always  obliged  to 
carry  the  keys  himself,  when  Mrs.  Bloodmoney  was  sick  ;  and 
split  him,  he  knew  the  use  of  them,  though  he  never  could  tell  one 
from  another." 

By  this  time  he  had  opened  the  sideboard,  whence  he  drew  forth, 
with  a  chuckle  of  satisfaction,  some  half  dozen  or  more  decanters, 
containing  various  liquors,  spirituous  and  vinous,  each  having  a 
case  or  foot-box  of  silver,  in  the  old  style,  to  stand  in.  These  he 
deposited  with  great  glee  upon  a  table  that  stood  in  the  center  of 
the  room,  as  if  it  had  been  left  after  clearing  away  supper.  Ano- 
ther visit  to  the  sideboard  resulted  in  his  finding  a  brace  of  cake- 
baskets,  also  of  silver,  in  one  of  which  was  the  remnant  of  a  huge 
black  or  plum  cake,  in  the  other  a  farrago  of  smaller  cates  and  con- 
fectionery. These  he  pronounced,  with  great  disdain,  school-boy 
trumpery,  and  betook  him  to  the  sideboard  again,  but  without  any 
further  success  in  discovering  eatables,  though  he  lighted  upon 
sundry  articles  of  plate,  all  which  he  drew  out  and  laid  upon  the 
table,  swearing,  with  as  much  energy  as  he  could  express  in  a 
whisper,  "  that  he  would  have  a  supper,  if  he  had  to  raise  the 
house  for  it."  I  took  the  liberty  of  telling  him,  "I  hoped  he  was 
not  giving  himself  any  of  that  trouble  on  my  account,"  upon 
which  he  nodded  and  laughed,  swore  I  was  "  an  odd  dog,"  and  de- 
clared he  intended  to  make  my  fortune. 

I  thought,  upon  my  conscience,  that  if  there  was  any  odd  dog 
in  the  case,  he  was  the  one,  for  a  more  strangely  behaved  person- 
age I  had  never  seen  before  in  my  whole  life,  and  every  act  and 
expression  served  but  to  increase  my  surprise. 

Having  dispatched  the  sideboard,  he  made  an  attack  upon  a 
brace  of  closets  in  the  chimney- wall,  which,  after  a  deal  of  trouble, 
he  succeeded  in  opening,  but  only  to  find  them  empty,  whereupon 
he  fell  into  a  rage,  and  swore  he  believed  the  servants  had  robbed 
them,  for  Mrs.  Bloodmoney,  he  knew,  used  to  keep  the  spoons  and 
forks  in  one  or  the  other  of  them.  I  ventured  to  say,  "  I  thought  we 
could  do  very  well  without  any  such  superfluities,"  but  he  cut  me 
short  by  applying  to  my  eyes  one  of  those  energetic  benedictions 
with  which  he  was  wont  to  distinguish  his  own,  bidding  me  "  hold 
my  tongue,  or  use  it,  like  a  cat,  to  dry  myself,"  an  expression 
whose  oddity  seemed  so  agreeable  to  himself  that  he  immediately 


KOBIN    DAY.  115 

got  rid  of  a  sour  look  he  had  put  on,  and  fell  to  laughing,  though  in 
a  subdued  manner,  as  became  the  husband  of  the  sick  and  nervous 
Mrs.  Bloodmoney.  Indeed,  I  may  observe,  that,  although  the  din 
of  the  storm,  which  seemed  rather  to  increase  than  diminish,  the 
howling  of  the  winds,  the  pattering  of  the  rain,  and  the  clamor 
of  numberless  shutters  slamming  and  banging  in  all  quarters, 
might  have  excused  a  little  indulgence,  since  no  ordinary  talking 
or  laughing  could  have  been  heard  out  of  the  room  itself,  and 
none,  if  heard,  could  have  distressed  any  nerves  that  were  undis- 
turbed by  the  tempest,  Mr.  Bloodmoney  was,  nevertheless,  ex- 
tremely careful,  in  everything  he  did  or  said,  to  make  as  little  noise 
as  possible,  which  convinced  me  that,  notwithstanding  his  oddi- 
ties and  coarseness  of  manners,  Mr.  Bloodmoney  had  an  affection 
for  his  wife,  and  this,  I  felt,  was  one  good  quality,  however  de- 
ficient he  might  be  in  others. 


114  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

In  which  Mr.  Bloodmoney  gives  Robin  his  supper  and  tells  him 
several  astonishing  secrets. 

HAVING  advised  me  to  use  my  tongue  as  aforesaid,  and  laughed 
at  his  own  facetiousness,  Mr.  Bloodmoney  swore  he  would  make 
a  voyage  of  exploration  over  the  house  in  search  of  the  proper 
materials  for  a  supper,  and  that  he  might  do  this  with  less  fear 
of  disturbing  his  lady,  he  pulled  off  his  boots,  that  were  somewhat 
of  the  heaviest,  and  being  also,  as  he  said,  water-logged,  made  a 
gurgling  noise  at  every  step,  which  he  himself  compared  to  the 
"  gasp  of  a  drowning  tomcat."  This  being  done,  and  not  with- 
out my  assistance,  which  he  demanded  without  any  ceremony,  he 
sallied  forth  in  his  stocking  feet  with  a  candle,  bidding  me 
keep  quiet  till  he  returned. 

I  kept  quiet,  as  he  directed,  sitting  by  the  fire,  indulging  in 
speculations  on  his  character,  and  wondering  whether  its  singu- 
larity and  coarseness  were  shared  by  any  of  the  members  of 
his  family — supposing  he  had  one,  which,  I  thought,  might  be 
inferred  from  his  remark  about  the  seven  squalling  children. 
Supposing  his  wife,  however,  were  his  only  companion,  I  had 
soon  good  evidence,  as  I  esteemed  it,  of  her  being  a  very  dif- 
ferent sort  of  personage  from  her  lord,  for,  besides  a  magnifi- 
cent piano  that  stood  against  the  wall,  and  a  guitar  lying  upon 
it,  I  perceived,  upon  getting  up  to  look  about  me,  an  equally 
magnificent  harp  standing,  half  covered,  in  a  corner,  with  a  music- 
stand,  and  books  scattered  in  some  disorder  around  it. 
The  sight  of  the  harp  filled  my  eyes  with  tears,  for  it  re- 
minded me  of  Nanna,  who  had  learned  to  play  upon  that  instru- 
ment, and  brought  to  my  memory  the  days  of  happiness  I  had 
enjoyed  in  her  father's  house — days  which  I  was,  perhaps,  never 
to  know  again. 

I  turned  away  from  it,  that  I  might  conquer  my  agitation 
before  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  return,  and  then  betook  me  to  the 


KORIN   DAY,  115 

pictures,  which  I  surveyed  with  much  interest,  having  always 
had  a  passionate  regard  for  the  painter's  art.  Some  of  these  ap- 
peared to  me  very  ancient  and  excellent,  being  religious  pieces, 
representations  of  Madonnas  and  Saints,  and  scenes  of  crucific- 
tion  and  martyrdom,  that  awoke  sad  and  painful  emotions  in  my 
breast. 

Besides  these,  there  were  several  portraits,  of  which  two,  hang- 
ing as  pendants,  occupied  conspicuous  places  on  the  wall,  repre- 
senting, the  one  a  female,  not  very  young  or  handsome,  but 
amiable  looking  ;  the  other,  a  gentleman  advanced  in  life,  but  of 
a  vigorous  frame,  stern  and  somewhat  sinister  countenance,  and 
with  powdered  hair. 

Another,  that  hung  in  the  corner  above  the  harp,  interested 
me  more,  both  because  it  was  a  better  painting,  as  I  could  per- 
ceive, notwithstanding  it  had  but  an  insufficient  light,  and  be- 
cause there  was  something  at  once  striking  and  noble  in  the 
visage.  It  was  also  the  portrait  of  a  gentleman,  though  much 
younger  than  the  other,  in  some  foreign  costume,  rich  and  pic- 
turesque ;  his  countenance  very  handsome,  but  swarthy,  with  long 
black  hair  falling  upon  his  shoulders,  and  around  his  neck  a  string 
of  black  beads  that,  I  thought,  looked  pretty  much  like  my  own, 
only  that  there  was  suspended  to  it  a  rich  golden  cross,  with  a 
cluster  of  jewels  at  the  ends  of  each  arm,  and  another  at  the  point 
of  intersection.  But  what  struck  me  more  than  the  richness  of 
dress  and  decorations,  or  the  beauty  of  the  countenance,  was  an 
air  of  uncommon  gloom  and  dejection  that  sat  upon  every  feature, 
expressing  a  tale  of  suffering  that  wrought  upon  my  feelings  and 
awakened  my  curiosity  ;  and  Mr.  Bloodmoney  returning  about 
this  time  with  a  huge  load  of  eatables  and  other  things  he  had 
gathered  up,  1  directed  his  attention  to  the  picture,  begging  to 
know  who  it  was  it  represented.  He  cast  his  eye  indifferently 
towards  it,  but  his  countenance  suffered  a  change  the  moment  he 
regarded  it.  He  seemed,  indeed,  perturbed  and  confounded, 
gazed  upon  it  with  a  sort  of  wildness  for  an  instant,  and  then 
turned  hastily  away,  bidding  me  "  mind  my  own  business,  and  be 
curst,"  though  he  presently  added,  as  if  ashamed  of  his  roughness, 
"  that  it  was  an  old  friend  of  his  who  had  gone  to  Davy  Jones 
long  ago,"  with  which  gracious  information  I  was  obliged  to  rest 
satisfied. 

He  now  spread  upon  the  board  the  spoils  collected  in  his  expe- 


116  ADVENTURES    OF 

dition  (which,  he  declared,  he  had  conducted  without  disturbing 
so  much  as  a  cat  or  a  mouse),  consisting  of  cold  meats  and  fowls, 
pastry,  sweatmeats,  and  I  know  not  what  beside  ;  but  there  was 
enough  to  feed  a  regiment,  as  well  as  an  astonishing  quantity  of 
plate — spoons,  forks,  goblets,  salvers,  &c. — his  bringing  which  and 
spreading  it  on  the  table,  where  it  made  a  rich  and  tempting,  but 
useless  show,  I  could  only  account  for  by  supposing  he  desired  to 
amaze  and  confound  me  with  the  evidences  of  his  boundless 
wealth,  a  supposition  that  appeared  to  me  natural  enough  of  a 
man  whose  conversation  indicated  so  vulgar,  and,  doubtless,  so 
poor  an  origin,  and  which  was,  moreover,  confirmed  by  his  openly 
soliciting  my  admiration  to  his  treasure,  asking  me  if  it  was  not 
a  "  cargo  for  a  Spanish  galleon  " — "  an  invoice  worth  a  Jew's 
eye,"  with  other  like  expressions. 

Having  arranged  it  to  his  mind,  he  now  sat  down  to  eat  and 
drink,  bidding  me  do  the  same,  and,  out  of  the  various  cold  bits 
he  had  collected,  we  made  a  very  good  supper  together — Mr. 
Bloodmoney  in  particular,  who  ate  with  a  vigor  that  would  have 
surprised  me,  had  not  the  energy  with  which  he  attacked  the  pot- 
ables absorbed  all  my  attention.  One  bottle  of  wine  he  dis- 
patched at  a  gulp,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  pour  it  out  ;  a 
second  he  attacked  with  like  fury,  but  was  obliged  to  breathe  in 
the  middle  of  the  draught,  and  when  he  had  cracked  oif  the  neck 
of  a  third,  which  he  did  with  a  knife,  as  if  slicing  off  the  head  of 
an  enemy,  his  zeal  was  so  much  abated  that  he  was  content  to 
drink,  as  he  said,  "in  the  genteel  way;"  that  is,  by  pouring  the 
wine  into  a  tumbler,  for  he  professed  too  great  a  contempt  of 
Wine  glasses  to  condescend  to  such  small  ware. 

Having  arrived  at  this  point  of  moderation,  I  could  not  observe 
that  his  energies  suffered  any  further  abatement,  or  that  his 
draughts  declined  either  in  quantity  or  frequency.  In  short,  Mr. 
Bloodmoney,  as  he  freely  confessed,  loved  his  glass,  particularly, 
as  he  added,  in  foul  weather,  when  the  soaking  of  the  inner  man 
was  the  only  way  to  prevent  the  saturation  of  th3  outer,  "  for 
how,"  quoth  he,  ingeniously,  "  can  water  get  into  a  barrel  that's 
already  full  of  better  liquor  ?  " 

Upon  this  principle  he  drank,  and  with  a  very  visible  effect  on 
his  heart  and  spirits,  the  one  growing  warm  and  loving,  the  other 
facetious  and  boisterous  ;  so  that  he,  by  and  by,  fell  to  stretching 
across  the  table,  to  shake  hands  with  me,  in  a  manner  the  most  ar- 


ROBIN    DAY.  117 

dent  in  the  world,  swearing  he  loved  me,  "  for  all  of  my  nose  be- 
ing too  big  for  my  eyes  "  (an  expression  which,  although  it  was 
a  riddle  to  me  then,  I  suppose  was  meant  to  convey  the  idea  that 
it  was  so  big — metaphorically  speaking — as  to  prevent  my  seeing 
beyond  it),  and  finally  to  trolling  a  sea  song,  which  he  began  to 
sing  so  loudly  that  I  was  forced  to  remind  him  of  the  tender  state 
of  Mrs.  Bloodmoney's  nerves  ;  whereupon  he  declared  he  had  for- 
got himself,  and  declared  it  with  an  oath  thrice  as  loud  as  the  song. 

In  a  word,  the  gentleman  was  becoming  merry,  of  which  he 
gave  a  new  and  stronger  proof  every  moment,  being  guilty  of 
a  thousand  absurdities  of  speech  and  action  that  are  not 
necessary  to  be  recorded,  except  in  so  far  as  they  had  a  bearing 
upon  my  own  interests.  One  of  hia  pranks  was  to  cram  my 
knapsack  with  the  valuables  he  had  collected  together,  and,  as 
he  prefaced  this  step  by  embracing  me,  and  swearing,  as  he  was 
now  accustomed  to  do  every  half  minute,  that  he  intended  to 
make  my  fortune,  I  thought,  upon  my  conscience,  he  meant  to 
make  me  a  present  of  the  whole  collection,  and  was  amazed  at 
the  extravagance  of  his  folly.  He  then  clapped  the  sack  upon 
the  table,  swore  he  was  once  the  best  sailor  that  ever  trod  a 
plank,  declared  I  should  be  his  first  lieutenant,  and  asked  me  if  I 
ever  had  heard  of  Captain  Hellcat,  and  upon  my  reminding  him  he 
had  spoken  of  that  worthy  at  the  little  inn,  he  averred,  with  great 
volubility,  and  in  one  breath,  that  the  said  Captain  was  a  very 
honest  fellow,  and  the  biggest  villain  the  earth  had  ever  produced; 
and  this  very  wise  and  consistent  assertion  be  concluded  by  ac- 
quainting me,  in  a  fit  of  great  communicativeness,  that  Captain 
Hellcat,  or  Brown — for  this,  it  appeared  was  his  real  appellation, 
the  former  being  a  mere  nickname — was  in  Philadelphia,  and 
had  made  application  for  the  command  of  the  privateer,  the  Lovely 
Nancy. 

At  this  information  I  was  both  surprised  and  alarmed — sur- 
prised, as  I  told  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  that  any  such  piratical  villian 
should  dare  show  himself  among  honest  men  in  a  great  city,  not 
to  speak  of  his  audacity  in  asking  command  of  an  honest  man's 
ship  ;  and  alarmed,  as  I  also  freely  confessed,  at  the  possibility  of 
my  being  sent  to  sea  under  charge  of  such  a  commander.  To  this 
Mr.  Bloodmoney  made  answer,  first,  by  particularizing  my  eyes  in 
his  customary  way,  and  bidding  me  not  abuse  a  better  man  than 
myself,  and  then  by  referring  in  the  same  way  to  his  own,  and  ask- 


118  ADVENTURES    OF 

ing  if  I  thought  him  such  a  horse  as  to  trust  a  ship  in  the  hands  of 
such  a  desperado,  who  might  run  away  with  her  the  moment  it 
suited  his  interests — not  he,  spilt  him.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I'm  no 
such  gudgeon,  but  a  deep-water  fish,  fin,  head  and  tail, 'as  you'll 
find  me.  And  yet  I  would  I  could  trust  the  Lovely  Nancy  in  the 
dog's  hands,  for  I'll  be  hanged  if  there's  his  equal,  could  one  but 
depend  upon  his  honor  and  honesty,  in  all  creation.  Sails  a  ship 
like  an  angel  ;  storm  and  shine,  blow  or  no  blow;  all's  one  to  Jack 
Brown  ;  and  fights,  ah — split  me,  where's  his  match  at  a  fight  ? 
fights  like  a  hellcat,  and  there's  the  name  of  him.  An  honest 
felloVT,  split  me  !  made  me  a  power  of  money.  As  how  ?  Why,  by 
fishing  for  niggers  on  the  Gold  Coast,  and  stray  Spaniards 
on  the  Gulf,  et  cetera,  as  the  learned  folk  say.  But  that  neither 
here  nor  there.  Bad  luck's  the  lot  of  the  best ;  even  Davy 
Jones  gets  a  snub,  sometimes,  when  the  parsons  chouse  him  out  of 
a  dying  sinner  ;  and  so  Jack  came  to  misfortune  ;  and  them  that 
were  his  old  friends  turn  up  their  noses  at  him,  especially  us  that 
live  in  big  houses  and  have  made  our  fortunes  by  him  ;  we  do, 
split  me.  Well,  Jack  comes  to  me,  and  says  he,  '  I'm  an  honest 
man  now,  and  go  for  fighting  the  foes  of  my  country  ;  give  me 
the  Lovely  Nancy,  and  I'll  sweep  the  Irish  Channel. '  I  liked  the 
idea,  split  me  ;  for,  no  doubt,  there  was  good  picking  there,  and 
nobody  to  interfere,  for  d'ye  see,  John  Bull  would  never  think  of 
clapping  a  guard  at  his  parlor  door.  But,  nevertheless,  d'ye  see, 
I  meant  the  ship  for  the  Gulf  and  the  West  Indies,  having  busi- 
ness of  my  own  there  ;  and  so  said  I,  Jack,  I  can't  trust  you  with 
a  ship,  for  you'll  run  away  with  her.  Then  Jack  d — d  his  eyes 
and  talked  of  his  honor  ;  but  I  told  him  that  was  all  old  junk  and 
oakum,  for  unless  he  could  find  some  one  to  stand  security  for 
his  good  behavior,  or  raise  a  pledge  that  would  nail  him  to  the 
same,  he  should  whistle  for  the  Lovely  Nancy  ;  he  should,  split 
him.  And  now,  d'ye  see,  here's  the  case  :  Jack's  as  mad  as  fire, 
because  of  my  scorning  his  honor,  and  he's  mad  for  the  Lovely 
Nancy,  for  she's  a  beauty,  and  he's  mad  to  raise  a  pledge,  because 
he  can't  get  a  ship  without  it.  And  what  do  you  think  he'll  do  ? 
Why,  I'll  be  hanged,  if  I  know  ;  only  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he 
should  rob  me,  the  rascal — break  my  house,  carry  off  my  plate  and 
what  else  he  can  lay  hands  on,  and  so  make  a  pledge  for  his  good 
faith  with  my  own  money  !  I  shouldn't,  split  me,  for  it's  in  the  ras- 
cal it  is,  split  me  !  " 


ROBIN   DAT.  119 

With  that,  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  seizing  upon  my  knapsack,  and 
clapping  a  few  more  articles  of  plate  into  it,  informed  me,  with  a 
look  of  unutterable  sagacity,  that  he  was  going  to  balk  the  rascal 
by  removing  every  valuable  from  the  house,  and  depositing  them 
for  safe-keeping  in  the  lockers  of  the  Lovely  Nancy  herself; 
nay,  so  urgent  appeared  to  him  the  necessity  of  such  a  transfer, 
of  making  it  that  very  night,  "  for  who, "  said  he,  "  can  tell  how 
soon  Hellcat  may  be  down  upon  me  ?  " 


120  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

An  adventure  of  a  Sleeping  Beauty,  in  which  Robin  Day  shines 

out  as  a  hero. 

HAVING  thus  solved  the  mystery  of  the  plate,  he  assured  me 
again  it  was  more  than  probable  that,  from  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing a  suitable  captain,  he  should  take  command  of  his  vessel 
himself,  in  which  case  I  might  depend  upon  being  appointed  his 
first  lieutenant,  an  honor  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  did  not,  at  this 
time,  appear  to  me  too  great  for  my  merits,  for,  if  I  must  say  the 
truth,  the  libations  I  felt  obliged,  out  of  civility,  to  make  oftener 
than  I  should  have  otherwise  desired,  had  somewhat  turned  my 
head  and  robbed  me  of  understanding. 

For  the  same  reason,  as  I  grew  foolish,  I  became  also  sentimental 
and  tender-hearted,  and,  happening  to  direct  my  eyes  to  the  por- 
trait of  Mrs.  Bloodmoney,  I  was  seized  with  concern  at  the  thought 
of  Mr.  Bloodmoney  leaving  her  to  embark  upon  an  enterprise  of 
such  danger,  and  so  told  him,  whereupon  he  assured  me  in  confi- 
dence, "  she  was  a  confounded  jade  and  a  shrew,  and  he  longed  to 
be  rid  of  her,"  adding  that  he  was  going  to  carry  a  passenger  to 
the  Gulf — a  certain  young  lady — the  most  beautiful  creature  in  the 
world,  and  who,  as  he  swore,  he  would  marry  her  the  moment  he 
should  have  got  out  of  Mrs.  Bloodmoney's  sight,  I  did  not  doubt 
was  a  main  reason  of  his  resolving  to  sail  the  vessel  himself. 

His  rapturous  commendations  of  this  young  lady,  in  whose  hon- 
or he  immediately  began  to  sing  a  very  strange  love-song,  abounding 
with  marine  phrases  and  saline  similes,  had  the  effect  of  making 
me  think  again  of  the  beautiful  Nanna,  and  as  I  had  now  reached 
the  point  of  festive  sensibility  when  one  can  be  lachrymose  or 
merry,  just  as  the  whim  shifts,  I  immediately  burst  into  a  flood  of 
tears,  and  informed  Mr.  Bloodmoney  I  was  the  most  unhappy  of 
men.  "  Of  boys,  you  mean,"  said  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  who  then  de- 
manded, with  great  sympathy,  "  what  I  was  blubbering  about  ?" 
and  whether  there  was  a  women  in  the  case,  and,  upon  my  ad- 


ROBIN    DAY.  121 

mitting  that  such  was  the  fact,  that  my  misfortunes  had  separated 
me  from  the  lovliest  and  most  amiable  of  her  sex,  he  gave  me  a 
fervent  hug,  and  swore,  with  great  generosity,  that  if  that  were 
the  case,  I  should  have  the  young  lady,  his  beautiful  passenger, 
myself — I  should  split  him — for,  such  was  his  regard  for  me,  he 
could  refuse  me  nothing — no,  not  even  this  adorable  young  lady, 
who  would  make  me  amends  for  the  loss  of  a  princess;  for  why  ? 
a  queen  was  a  dowdy  compared  with  her. 

With  that,  he  launched  again  into  his  praises  and  his  song,  now 
carolling  a  stave  in  a  voice  that  was  as  loud,  as  broken,  and,  per- 
haps, as  musical  as  the  wind  itself  howling  around  the  chimneys, 
now  diverging  in  extemporary  recitative,  uttering  I  know  not 
what  confused  and  incoherent  nonsense,  for  the  gentleman  was 
now  in  his  seventh  heaven,  when  the  door  which  Mr.  Bloodmoney 
had  left  ajar  suddenly  opened,  as  of  its  own  accord,  and  tJere 
stepped  into  the  room  a  vision  or  apparition — for  so,  at  first,  I 
thought  it — of  a  young  and  beautiful  female,  dressed  all  in  white — 
indeed  in  a  night  dress — holding  a  candle  in  her  hand,  though  not 
lighted,  with  which  she  made  her  way,  stepping  softly,  towards 
the  harp,  when  she  laid  the  light  down  upon  a  table,  and  then  be- 
gan to  remove  the  cover  from  the  instrument  as  if  about  to  play. 
She  took  no  notice  of  either  Mr.  Bloodmoney  or  myself,  and 
seemed,  in  truth,  quite  unconscious  of  our  presence,  though  she 
passed  so  near  me,  as  I  sat  at  the  corner  of  the  table,  staring  at  her 
aghast  (for  I  was  confounded  at  her  appearance),  as  to  brush  me 
with  her  clothes.  It  was  then,  however,  that  I  perceived  her  eyes, 
which  were  wide  open  and  very  large  and  black,  had  in  them  an 
air  of  stony  fixedness  and  inexpressiveness,  a  want  of  life  and 
speculation,  which  I  had  read  of  as  characterizing  the  sleep-walker, 
and  such,  I  began  to  suspect,  the  young  lady  must  be,  and  such 
as  it  proved,  she,  in  fact,  was. 

She  laid  down  the  candle,  and  uncovered  the  harp,  as  I  have  men- 
tioned, and  then  began  to  fumble  among  the  music,  as  if  in  search 
of  a  piece  to  play,  when  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  who  was,  for  a  mo- 
ment, struck  dumb,  like  myself,  exclaimed  :  "  There  she  is,  shiver 
my  timbers  !  Ain't  she  a  lass  for  a  commodore  ?  "  And,  jumping 
up,  he  advanced  towards  her,  staggering  and  lurching  like  a  ship 
in  a  storm,  swearing  "  he'd  have  a  buss,  if  he  died  for  it  ; "  and 
before  I  knew  what  to  say  or  think  of  his  strange  proceedings,  he 
clapped  his  arms  around  her  and  snatched  a  salute  from  her  lips. 


122  ADVENTURES    OP 

The  rudeness  and  violence  of  the  attack  instantly  awoke  the  fair 
somnambulist,  who,  thus  restored  to  sudden  consciousness,  and 
finding  herself  in  a  man's 'arms,  uttered  a  shriek,  the  "wildest,  shril- 
lest, and  most  expressive  of  terror  and  desperation,  I  had  ever 
heard  ;  and  this  she  followed  up  by  a  dozen  others,  as  loud  and  as 
harrowing,  struggling  all  the  time,  though  without  avail,  to  free 
herself  from  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  grasp,  who,  telling  her,  with 
more  energy  than  tenderness,  she  might "  squeak  and  be  hanged," 
swore  "  he  would  have  another  smack  ;  he  would,  split  him  ! " 

During  the  first  part  of  this  adventure,  surprise  kept  me  nailed 
to  my  chair,  as  well  as  speechless  ;  but  now,  being  roused  from 
my  stupor,  and  in  part,  also,  from  the  effects  of  the  wine,  by  the 
lady's  shrieks,  and  perceiving  her  almost  mad  with  terror  and  dis- 
tress, I  began  to  be  sensible  the  liberty  Mr.  Bloodmoney  was  tak- 
ing was  neither  civil  nor  manly — nay,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  was 
indecorous  and  brutal ;  and  that  it  became  me  to  rescue  the  af- 
frighted beauty  from  his  clutches.  Prompted  by  these  considera- 
tions, and  still  more  by  my  feelings,  which  were  naturally  chival- 
rous enough  in  the  cause  of  women,  I  ran  to  her  assistance  ;  and, 
not  knowing  in  what  better  way  to  proceed,  I  took  advantage  of 
the  instability  of  my  entertainer's  footing  to  trip  up  his  heels,  and 
so  lay  him  upon  the  floor,  assuring  him,  as  I  did  so,  by  way  of 
apology,  that  "  that  was  no  way  to  treat  a  lady." 

As  virtue  does  sometimes  meet  with  its  reward,  so  it  happened 
that  mine  was  in  this  instance  destined  to  a  recompense,  for  the 
lady  was  no  sooner  released  from  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  arms  than 
she  flung  herself  into  mine,  grasping  me  around  the  neck,  and  em- 
bracing me  with  such  fervor,  that  my  heart  began  to  pitapat  with 
confusion.  In  truth,  the  embrace  of  such  a  lovely  creature,  now 
the  more  lovely  for  her  terror,  wrought  a  kind  of  enchantment  on 
my  brain  ;  I  felt  myself,  on  a  sudden,  transformed  into  a  hero  of 
romance  whom  a  wondrous  destiny  had  thrown  into  contact  with 
my  star-ordained  heroine,  for  whom  I  was  to  dare  all  perils  and 
achieve  all  exploits  that  had  ever  been  recorded  of  a  Belmour  or 
Lord  Mortimer  ;  whom  I  was  to  adore  in  the  intensest  manner 
possible,  and  be  faithful  to,  through  good  and  evil,  through  storm 
and  bhine,  through  pomp  and  temptation,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  in  the 
usual  sentimental  way.  All  that  I  do  know,  in  addition  to  what  I 
have  said,  is  that  I,  for  the  moment,  entirely  forgot  my  dear  Nan- 
na,  and  that  I  returned  the  embrace  of  my  new  charmer,  swear- 


KOBIN    DAY.  123 

ing,  by  way  of  re-assuring  her,  that  I  would  die  in  her  defense  ; 
to  all  which,  as  well  as  to  my  tender  embraces,  she  paid  not  the 
slighest  regard,  having,  in  fact,  fallen  into  a  swoon.  It  was  to  this, 
to  do  her  justice,  more  than  to  any  thing  else,  that  I  owed  the 
favor  of  her  embrace,  for  she  had  clutched  me,  to  avoid  falling, 
just  as  she  would,  from  instinct,  have  clutched  a  post  or  a  block, 
though  the  sound  of  a  defender's  voice  no  doubt  caused  her  to 
turn  to  me  as  a  protector,  and  so  gave  me  a  preference  I  should 
have  enjoyed  had  there  even  been  a  post  or  a  block  for  her  to 
choose  between  us. 


124  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Another  adventure  of  a,  more  terrible  cast,  in  which  the  Sleeping 
Beauty  performs  the  part  of  a  heroine. 

In  the  meanwhile,  my  entertainer,  enraged  at  my  interference, 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  made  another  dart  at  the  maiden,  to  snatch 
her  from  my  arms ;  in  which  he  would  have,  perhaps,  succeeded, 
had  not  a  fourth  person  now  rushed  into  the  room,  with  a  pistol, 
which  he  fired  at  the  gentleman,  though  without  doing  him  any 
harm,  and  ^hen,  .with  a  chair  which  he  snatched  up  and  wielded 
with  both  hands,  knocked  him  down.  The  intruder,  as  I  saw  at  a 
glance,was  the  original  of  the  portrait  that  hung  as  the  pendant  to  the 
effigy  of  Mrs.  Bloodmoney — to  wit,  the  gentleman  with  the  pow- 
dered hair,  stern  countenance  and  vigorous  frame  ;  and  the  sight 
of  him  brought  I  know  not  what  strange  fancies  and  suspicions 
into  my  head.  But  I  had  little  time  to  entertain  them,  for  having 
knocked  Mr.  Bloodmoney  down,  he  began  to  vociferate  in  terms  of 
wrath  and  alarm,  "  Here  !  John,  Tim,  Dick,  George  !  Robbers, 
thieves  !  Fetch  the  watch — murder !  help  !  George,  Dick,  Tim, 
John,  watch  !  thieves  !  robbers  !"  And  immediately  three  or  four 
negro  men,  very  spruce  and  active  looking,  though  but  half- 
dressed,  came  tumbling  into  the  room,  with  looks  and  cries  of  as- 
tonishment and  indignation,  following  the  gentleman,  who  now 
made  an  assault  upon  me,  bidding  me  "  surrender  for  a  house- 
breaking  dog,"  and  strengthening  his  exhortation  by  the  same  ar- 
gument he  had  used  in  the  case  of  my  worthy  host  ;  that  is,  by 
knocking  me  down  with  the  chair.  At  the  same  moment  some  of 
blackies  whisked  the  young  lady  out  of  my  hands,  and  helped  her, 
now  recovering  her  senses,  out  of  the  room,  while  the  others, 
holding  fast  upon  my  entertainer  and  myself,  imitated  the  leader 
in  the  nocturnal  onslaught,  in  brawling  to  "  fetch  the  watch,"  and 
"  to  bring  ropes  to  tie  the  robbers." 

The  weight  of  the  chair,  applied  without  any  consideration  of 
what  might  be  the  consequences,  to  a  head  considerably  softer 


ROBIN    DAY.  125 

than  usual,  had  somewhat  stunned  and  muddled  my  faculties,  and 
their  confusion  was  rather  increased  than  abated  by  the  outcries 
of  the  strange  gentleman  and  his  attendants,  and  their  violent 
proceedings  in  regard  to  my  friend  and  myself.  Nevertheless,  I 
was  not  so  much  stupefied  as  to  be  incapable  of  forming  my  own 
opinions  of  the  true  state  of  matters  and  things  ;  but,  had  I  been, 
all  uncertainty  must  have  been  put  to  flight  by  what  followed. 

The  negroes  having  secured  my  hands  behind  me  with  a  hand- 
kerchief, pulled  me  upon  my  feet,  that  the  powdered  gentleman 
might  see,  as  he  said,  "  who  the  rascal  was."  He  gave  me  a  furi- 
ous stare,  told  me  I  was  "  a  bloody-minded  looking  villain — young 
for  a  housebreaker,  but  old  enough  to  hang;"  to  not  one  word  of 
which  friendlv  and  flattering  address  did  I  .return  an  answer 
being,  in  truth,  so  utterably  confounded,  that  my  tongue,  as  I  may 
say,  clove  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth. 

He  then  turned  to  my  entertainer,  who  being  helped  to  his  feet 
in  like  manner,  received  him  with  a  volley  of  drunken  oaths  and 
maledictions,  called  him  "  Old  Commodore,"  and  demanded,  with 
every  appearance  'of  honest  indignation,  "  If  that  was  the  way 
he  treated  an  old  friend  and  visitor." 

"  A  visitor  !"  quoth  the  white-headed  gentleman,  starting  at 
sight  of  him  as  at  a  basilisk,  and,  in  his  surprise,  uttering  a  name 
that  made  my  flesh  creep  on  my  bones  ;  it  was  the  name  of  the 
redoubtable  Captain  Brown,  alias  Hellcat  ! 

I  understood  my  position  at  once,  or,  at  least,  I  thought  I  did : 
the  white-headed  gentleman,  and  no  other,  was  the  true  Mr.  Blood- 
'money,  and  the  other  a  villainous  sharper,  pirate,  cut-throat — 
everything  that  was  roguish — who  had  taken  advantage  of  my 
ignorance  and  simplicity,  choused  me  out  of  my  letter  of  recom- 
mendation, with  its  inclosure  of  money,  and,  what  was  worse,  in- 
veigled me  into  the  commission  of  a  felony,  made  me  his  accom- 
plice in  a  burglary,  and  a  burglary,  too,  in  the  house  of  the  very 
man  to  whom  I  was  bearing  the  letter  of  recommendation. 

If  I  was  confounded  before,  I  was  now  in  a  trance  of  confusion 
a  hundred  times  worse  than  ever,  being  thrown  into  such  a  fit  of 
consternation  at  the  discoveiy  of  my  deplorable  condition  that  I 
not  only  was  incapable  of  seeing  what  it  was  proper  for  me  to  do 
to  extricate  myself  from  the  dilemma — to  wit,  to  inform  Mr. 
Bloodmoney  who  I  was,  and  how  I  had  been  entrapped — but  lost 
my  seven  senses  along  with  my  wits,  so  that  I  no  longer  saw  or 


126  ADVENTURES    OF 

heard  anything  that  passed  around  me,  being  conscious  only  of  a 
multitude  of  sounds  as  of  men  in  wrathful  argument,  whom  I 
could  no  more  see  than  I  could  distinguish  their  words.  In  this 
condition  I  was  dragged  away,  at  the  order,  I  believe,  of  Mr. 
Bloodmoney,  into  another  room,  where  one  of  the  blackies  re- 
mained in  watch  over  me,  armed  with  a  poker,  with  which  he 
gave  me  to  understand,  twenty  times  a  minute,  he  would  knock 
out  my  brains,  if  I  made  any  attempt  to  escape  ;  to  render  which 
the  more  difficult  he  was  at  the  pains  to  produce  a  second  hand- 
kerchief, with  which  he  bound  my  legs;  leaving  me  lying  like  a 
log  on  the  floor. 

I  now  began  to  recall  my  wits  a  little,  and  could  then  hear  the 
hum  of  loud  and  angry  voices  from  the  saloon,  and  presently  a 
greater  hubbub,  as  of  altercation  ;  then  a  yell  and  cry  of  murder, 
followed  by  other  sounds  not  less  frightful;  upon  which  the  negro 
who  had  charge  of  me  ran  out  to  join  the  fray,  leaving  me  in  the 
dark  and  as  much  terrified  as  himself.  To  increase  the  din,  there 
was  now  heard  a  prodigious  banging  at  the  door  and  ringing  of 
what  I  supposed  was  the  street  bell,  and  the  shrieking  of  women 
up  stairs,  which,  together  with  the  storm  that  still  rattled  as  fu- 
riously as  ever,  made  up  such  a  chorus  of  horrible  sounds  as  I 
had  never  heard  before — no,  not  even  at  the  execution  of  the  de- 
throned tyrant  M'Goggin. 

In  the  midst  of  the  hubbub,  the  young  lady,  the  heroine  of  the 
night,  suddenly  appeared  before  me,  pale  with  affright  and 
excitement,  yet  with  something  of  resolution  marked  on  her 
beautiful  visage.  She  entered  the  room,  closed  the  door, 
and  stepping  hastily  to  where  I  lay,  looked  me  intently  in  the  face, 
and  then  muttered,  in  tones  slightly  distinguished  by  a  foreign  ac- 
cent, and  low  and  tremulous,  yet  expressive  of  the  energy  of 
passion,  "  You  are  a  robber,  a  house  breaker,  and  a  villain ;  but 
you  have  saved  me — J)ios  mio  !  I  know  not  from  what ! — You 
shall  escape." 

With  these  words  she  tore  the  handkerchiefs  from  my  hands 
and  feet,  and  throwing  open  a  window  that  seemed  to  look  into  a 
garden,  bade  me  leap  through  it  and  begone,  an  injunction  in 
which  I  was  extremely  willing  to  obey  her,  being  as  eager,  in  fact, 
to  get  out  of  the  horrible  scrape  I  was  in  as  ever  was  mouse  to  fly 
his  narrow  prison  of  wire.  Nevertheless,  I  could  not  leave  such  a 
beautiful  creature,  without  some  attempt  at  retrieving  my  charac- 


ROBIN   DAT.  127 

ter  in  her  opinion.  "  I  am  no  robber,  no  villain,"  I  said,  "  but  a 
miserable  dupe  of — "  I  would  have  added,  "  the  villain,  Captain 
Brown,  and  my  own  egregious  folly  ;"  but  she  interrupted  me  im- 
patiently, waving  with  one  hand  to  the  window,  and  with  the  other 
pointing  warningly  to  the  door  of  the  room,  at  which  I  heard,  or 
fancied  I  heard,  the  steps  and  voices  of  men,  coming  to  make  sure 
of  me.  "  Begone,"  she  muttered,  "  and,  if  you  are  honest,  God 
will  go  with  you." 

I  leaped  as  commanded,  my  heart  full  of  gratitude,  my  head 
again  teeming  with  romantic  notions,  which  not  even  the  peril  of 
my  situation  could  prevent  returning,  at  this  second  encounter  with 
the  lovely  Spaniard,  for  such,  by  her  exclamation,  Dios  mio,  I 
knew  she  must  be. 

But  what  peril  could  not  do  in  the  way  of  curing  me  of  my  sen- 
timent, a  very  trivial  mischance  soon  did,  for,  dropping  from  the  win- 
dow, which  was  some  six  or  seven  feet  from  the  ground,  I  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  plump  into  a  rain  hogshead,  then  brimful ;  that  is,  I 
plumped  into  it  with  one  leg,  bestriding  it  as  a  dragoon  his  war- 
horse,  and  the  vessel  being  unsettled  by  the  jar,  toppled  over  with 
me  to  the  ground  with  a  violence  that  must  have  done  much  dam- 
age to  my  exterior  leg,  had  not  the  fury  of  the  deluge  it  imme- 
diately shot  over  me,  washed  me,  as  I  may  say,  clean  out  of  it,  be- 
fore I  had  reached  the  ground. 

The  worst  consequence  of  this  misadventure  was  my  being  now, 
for  the  second  time,  drenched  to  the  skin  ;  but  this  I  did  not  long 
lament,  as  it  was  raining  as  furiously  as  ever,  and  I  perceived  I 
must  at  all  events  have  been,  in  a  few  moments,  as  thoroughly- 
soaked  as  ever.  I  had  no  time  to  lose  in  bewailing  my  misfor- 
tunes, and  therefore  thought  of  nothing  so  much  as  making  my 
escape  from  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  garden,  which  I  effected  by  climb- 
ing a  gate  and  dropping  into  a  little  alley,  whence  I  made  my  way 
into  a  street. 

Here  I  was  in  some  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  watch- 
man, who  was  running  along  towards  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house,  as 
I  supposed,  making  a  terrible  din  with  his  rattle  ;  but  I  avoided 
him  by  slipping  behind  a  corner  till  he  had  passed  ;  after  which,  I 
took  to  my  heels,  and  ran,  I  knew  .not  well  whither,  until  I  found 
myself  out  of  breath  and  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city. 

This  discovery,  or  rather  the  latter  part  of  it,  was  the  more 
agreeable,  as  I  was  now  heartily  sick  of  the  City  of  Brotherly 


128  ADVENTURES    OP 

Love,  which,  after  such  a  feat  of  burglary,  however  innocent  my 
own  part  in  it,  did  not  seem  the  safest  place  in  the  world  for  me 
to  remain  in.  I  pursued  my  way,  therefore,  without  so  much 
caring  whither  it  might  lead  me,  as  desiring  it  should  bear  me  as 
far  as  possible  from  Philadelphia;  and  was,  in  half  an  hour  more, 
outside  of  the  town,  waddling  along  (for  I  cannot  call  it  walking) 
through  a  long  puddle  of  fluid  brick-clay,  knee-deep  at  least, 
which,  I  afterwards  ascertained,  was  one  of  the  principal  highways 
from  Philadephia  to  the  South. 


ROBIN   DAY. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  Hegira  continued,  with  some  philosophical  reflections  in  the 
boot  of  a  coach. 

ALONG  this  excellent  and  highly  agreeable  road,  miring  at  every 
step,  buffeted  by  the  winds,  without  my  hat  (which,  with  my 
knapsack,  I  had  left  in  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  drawing-room),  I  jour- 
neyed onward  with  all  the  speed  I  could,  being  more  and  more 
frightened,  the  more  I  thought  of  it,  at  the  terrible  quandary  into 
which  I  had  now  fallen. 

To  be  so  egregiously  duped,  as  I  had  been,  by  Captain  Brown, 
was  mortifying  enough  to  my  self  love,  as  proving  that,  with  all 
my  vanity  and  conceit,  I  was  but  a  schoolboy  in  the  world  after 
all  ;  but  to  be  duped  into  a  burglary,  to  be  rendered,  or  made  to 
appear,  the  actual  accomplice  of  a  robber  in  a  felony  the  most 
audacious  ever  attempted — there  was  the  rub,  there  was  the  rock 
upon  which  I  found  my  bark  of  adventure  was  in  danger  of  going 
to  pieces.  How  I  was  to  extricate  myself  from  this  dilemma,  by 
my  own  unaided  exertions,  unless  by  flight,  I  knew  not.  That  I 
could  sooner  or  later,  indeed,  establish  my  innocence,  through 
the  means  of  my  patron,  I  did  not  doubt  ;  but  I  had  seen  enough 
of  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  and  the  opinion  he  had  formed  of  me,  to 
know  that  any  attempt  to  explain  the  circumstance  to  him,  without 
the  assistance  of  the  letter  of  which  Captain  Brown  had  deprived 
me,  could  result  in  nothing  but  my  being  immediately  consigned, 
like  any  common  rogue,  to  a  prison  ;  whence — not  to  speak  of  the 
ignominy  of  such  confinement — I  had  good  reason  to  expect  to  be 
discharged  only  into  the  hands  of  a  New  Jersey  police  officer,  duly 
commissioned  to  conduct  me  back  to  the  scene  of  the  M'Goggin 
adventure,  and  perhaps  the  gallows,  a  thought  that  set  my  teeth 
to  chattering  worse  than  even  the  wet  and  cold  did,  and  gave  a 
vigor  to  my  feet  that  was  the  more  necessary,  as,  without  some 
such  stirring  impulse  to  urge  me  on,  I  should  never  have  been  able 
to  make  any  progress  through  the  mud,  and  against  the  storm. 


130  ADVENTURES    OF 

Upon  the  whole,  it  appeared  to  me  that  my  only  hope  of  safety, 
the  only  course  that  was  left  me,  was  to  get  out  of  the  reach  of 
Mr.  Bloodmoney  and  the  prisons  of  Philadelphia,  as  soon  as'  pos- 
sible, and,  this  having  been  affected,  to  write  to  my  patron,  in- 
forming him  of  all  my  mishaps,  of  the  last  in  particular,  leaving 
it  to  him  to  make  my  peace  and  restore  my  credit  with  Mr. 
Bloodmoney. 

While  I  was  debating  this  matter  in  my  mind,  it  was  my  for- 
tune to  be  overtaken  by  a  mail-coach  (for  such  it  proved),  that 
had  just  left  the  city  and  was  floundering  through  the  mud  like 
myself,  though  at  a  rate  of  travel  somewhat  more  rapid  than  my 
own.  Whither  it  was  going  I  had  not  the  remotest  idea  ;  never- 
theless, being  heartily  sick  of  trudging  in  the  mire  and  rain,  I  felt 
disposed  to  hail  the  driver  and  demand  a  seat ;  and  I  should 
have  done  so  had  I  not  been  afraid  of  finding  in  it  some  villainous 
constable,  watchman,  or  agent  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  sent  in  pur- 
suit of  me.  But  as  I  perceived  behind  it  a  very  capacious  boot, 
that  seemed,  from  the  flapping  of  its  leather  covering,  to  be  quite 
empty,  and  was  capable  of  affording  me  both  carriage  and  shelter 
from  the  storm,  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  clamber  into 
it,  which  I  did,  unseen  by  the  driver,  and  there  ensconced  myself, 
defended  somewhat  from  the  rain  by  the  leather  covering,  which 
I  buckled  around  me  as  well  as  I  could. 

In  this  position,  lugged  along  like  the  lion  of  a  traveling  cara- 
van in  his  cage,  or  a  duck  in  a  coop  (which  may  be  the  better 
simile),  I  had  ample  leisure  to  reflect  upon  my  extraordinary  ill 
luck  in  getting  into  difficulties,  whether  I  would  or  not,  and  to 
devise  some  plan  of  avoiding  them  for  the  future.  And,  I  have 
no  doubt,  I  thought  many  very  sensible  thoughts  and  framed 
many  wise  resolutions  while  thus  cooped  up  in  my  little  prison, 
from  which,  however,  I  derived  the  less  profit,  as  there  was  never 
a  thought  entered  my  head  or  a  determination  formed  in  my  mind, 
that  it  was  not,  a  moment  after,  beaten  out  of  my  recollection  by 
some  sudden  plump  of  the  coach  into  a  mud-hole,  or  furious  jolt 
over  a  stone,  by  which  I  was  either  frightened  or  bruised  out  of 
my  philosophy. 

I  remember,  however,  that  having  pondered  my  affair  writh  the 
pseudo  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  alias  Captain  Hellcat,  over  and  over 
again,  and  satisfied  myself  that  my  being  duped  was  more  owing 
to  my  own  simple  credulity  than  to  any  peculiar  skill  in  hoaxing 


BOBIN   DAY.  131 

on  the  part  of  that  honest  personage,  I  manfully  resolved  never 
again  to  be  duped  by  mortal  man  ;  to  prevent  which,  nothing  more 
appeared  to  me  necessary  than  to  act  upon  a  maxim  in  great  vogue 
among  philosophers,  and  to  consider  every  man  a  rogue  until  he 
should  prove  himself  honest,  and  so  remain  on  the  alert  against 
knavery  and  deception. 

This  resolution  I  was  the  better  able  to  fix  in  my  memory,  as,  at 
the  time  of  framing  it,  the  coach  suddenly  emerged  from  mud  and 
stones  and  rolled  softly  along  a  bed  of  plank  and  timber,  which, 
moving  my  curiosity,  I  peeped  out,  and  found  we  were  upon  a  low- 
floating  bridge,  crossing  a  river.  This,  I  supposed,  was  the  Schuyl- 
kill,  as,  in  fact,  it  was  ;  and  hence,  as  I  knew  this  river  ran  west 
of  Philadelphia,  I  inferred  the  coach  was  taking  me  exactly  the 
way  I  wished  to  go — that  is,  from  Philadelphia,  and  not  back  into 
New  Jersey,  and  perhaps  even  southward,  toward  the  Chesapeake, 
whither,  of  all  the  places  in  the  world,  I  now  desired  most  to  go 
in  the  hope  of  meeting  my  friend  Dicky  Dare,  under  whose  com- 
mand and  protection  I  was  resolved  to  place  myself  and  so  fight 
the  enemies  of  my  country  on  dry  land. 

These  thoughts  were  highly  agreeable  and  consolatory,  and  ban- 
ished half  the  fears  and  distresses  from  my  mind  ;  so  that,  by  and 
by,  in  spite  of  the  jolts,  I  fell  fast  asleep,  being  pretty  well  worn 
out  by  the  watchings  and  labors  of  the  night,  not  to  speak  of  my 
insufficient  slumbers  in  the  woods  of  New  Jersey  the  preced- 
ing night.  I  dreamed  that  I  had  stumbled  on  my  friend  Dicky 
Dare,  who  was  a  great  general  at  the  head  of  an  army,  and  I  his 
second  in  command  ;  that  we  went  into  battle  with  an  army  of 
red  coats,  whom  we  put  to  rout,  performing  prodigies  of  valor, 
I,  in  particular,  cutting  off  so  many  heads  that  I  quite  eclipsed 
my  friend  Dicky,  as  well  as  all  the  other  great  heroes,  Hannibal, 
Julius  Caesar,  &c.,  that  ever  lived,  so  that  the  soldiers  were  in  a  rap- 
ture, assembling  on  the  field  of  victory  to  crown  me  king  over  them; 
a  consummation  of  triumph  that  made  me  feel  very  glorious,  but 
which  I  should  have  been  still  better  pleased  with,  had  it  not  been 
for  a  sudden  jolt  of  the  coach  (that  was  at  that  moment  fording  a 
brook,  swollen  by  the  rain),  whereby  I  was  tossed  out  of  my  perch, 
plumped  head  over  heels  in  the  flood  and  well  nigh  drowned,  be- 
fore I  knew  what  was  the  matter  with  me.  By  dint  of  much  effort 
and  scrambling,  however,  I  made  my  way  at  length  to  the  bank 
without  loss  or  damage,  which  I  was  the  better  able  to  do  as  the  day 


132  ADVENTUKES    OP 

was  beginning  to  break,  and  the  storm  to  clear  away  ;  and  having 
devoted  a  moment  or  two  to  lamenting  my  unlucky  fate  in  meeting 
so  many  uncomfortable  accidents,  I  resolved  to  make  my  misfor- 
tune the  means  of  helping  me  to  a  seat  in  the  coach,  which  I  had  for 
some  time  suspected,  from  not  having  heard  any  voices  in  it,  was 
without  passengers,  as  indeed  proved  true. 

My  resolution  to  treat  for  the  future  every  person  I  met  as  a 
rogue  until  he  should  prove  himself  an  honest  man  involved  also 
a  determination  to  act  like  a  rogue  myself — that  is,  to  quibble,  coz- 
en and  deceive  as  far  as  it  was  necessary  to  keep  me  out  of  trouble. 
Tor  this  reason,  being  conscious  that  I  made  but  a  strange  and 
sorry  appearance  in  my  reeking  clothes,  and  that  an  application  for 
a  seat  in  the  coach  in  such  a  place  and  at  such  an  hour,  and  coming 
from  such  a  figure,  must  look  somewhat  suspicious,  I  told  the  driver, 
whom  I  was  obliged  to  wake  out  of  a  nap  he  was  snugly  taking  on 
his  seat,  first  "  that  he  had  certainly  set  out  that  morning  earlier 
than  usual  "  (meaning  to  insinuate  that  I  had  intended  to  enter 
the  coach  in  the  city,  and  had  been  compelled  to  walk  after  h  to 
overtake  it),  and  secondly,  "  that  I  had  had  the  misfortune  to  get 
•out  of  my  depth  in  crossing  the  brook,  and  thereby  to  lose  my  hat 
.and  bundle,"  "all  which,"  the  honest  man  declared,  rubbing  his 
eyes  with  great  zeal,  "  was  like  enough,  considering  the  weather," 
though  which  he  meant  was  like  enough — considering  the  weather, 
the  early  start  of  the  coach,  or  my  dip  in  the  brook — I  did  not 
trouble  myself  to  inquire. 

I  found,  as  I  expected,  that  the  coach  was  entirely  empty,  so 
that  I  was  relieved  of  all  fear  of  uncomfortable  companions,  and 
the  driver  told  me  we  should  soon  arrive  at  a  village  to  breakfast, 
where  I  might  easily  get  a  hat  and  such  clothes  as  I  desired;  pro- 
vided, as  he  took  care  to  add,  looking  at  me  as  if  he  had  some 
apprehensions  for  his  fare,  I  had  the  money  to  buy  them.  I  easily 
satisfied  him  on  this  score,  and  we,  by  and  by,  reached  the  village, 
where  I  procured  a  cap,  and  a  valise,  with  a  few  pieces  of  linen  to 
put  in  it,  being  all  the  ready-made  articles  of  clothing,  except 
cowskin  boots,  quaker  hats,  and  a  rejected  coat  made  for  a  Daniel 
Lambert,  that  were  for  sale  in  the  village.  But  for  this  I  cared 
the  less,  as  I  imagined  I  should  soon  be  a  volunteer  under  some 
gallant  commander,  who  would,  doubtless,  fit  me  out  in  a  hand- 
some uniform  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  and  thereby  en- 
able me  to  keep  my  money  for  more  pressing  occasions. 


ROBIN    DAY.  133 

I  found  out,  also,  after  a  little  roundabout  maneuvering — for  it 
would  not  do  to  avow  ignorance  on  so  important  a  point — that 
the  coach  was  bound  to  Wilmington,  in  Delaware  ;  a  discovery  that 
greatly  rejoiced  me,  that  town  being  on  the  direct  road  to  the  Chesa- 
peake, whither  I  was  now  so  desiroiis  to  go.  And  at  that  town — 
not  to  waste  time  in  describing  a  journey  that  was  without  adven- 
ture— we  did  not  arrive  until  after  nightfall,  in  consequence  of 
the  badness  of  the  road  and  the  horses,  together  with,  I  believe,' 
some  fears  the  coachman  had  of  driving  into  the  midst  of  a  British 
army,  which,  from  a  thousand  flying  rumors  that  now  met  us  at 
every  roll  of  the  wheels,  we  supposed  had  landed  on  the  Chesapeake, 
and  almost  feared  had  already  taken  possession  of  Wilmington. 

We  found,  however,  no  British  there,  but  great  talk  about  them, 
with  a  prodigious  deal  of  drumming  and  fifing,  shouting  and 
swearing,  and  riding  up  and  down,  for  it  seems  they  had  re- 
ceived news  of  the  enemy  having  actually  landed  in  great  force  at 
the  head  of  Elk,  or  some  other  water  of  the  Chesapeake,  not  more 
than  twenty  or  thirty  miles  off,  and  were,  in  consequence,  beating 
up.  with  great  spirit,  for  volunteers,  to  proceed  forthwith  to  the 
scene  of  danger. 

This  news,  though  it  seemed  to  have  disconcerted  everybody 
else,  was  by  no  means  disagreeble  to  me,  who,  besides  perceiving 
that  my  greatest  security  from  all  law  officers  would  be  found  amid 
the  din  and  terrors  of  a  camp,  was  beginning  to  warm  with  patri- 
otism and  martial  ardor.  I  resolved,  if  any  band  of  volunteers  or 
other  armed  men  should  set  out  in  the  night,  I  would  go  with 
them,  in  which  thought  I  entered  the  hotel  where  the  coach  stopped 
to  get  my  supper,  together  with  such  useful  information  as  I 
might  be  able  to  pick  up. 

As  for  my  supper,  I  was  ushered  into  a  room  where  stood  a  table 
bountifully  furnished  with  the  good  gifts  of  nature,  but  so  thronged 
with  guests,  all  older  and  wiser  than  myself,  and  all  so  much  bet- 
ter skilled  in  the  art  of  storming  bread  and  butter,  and  dividing 
the  spoils  of  the  platter,  that  I  had  much  ado  to  lay  hands  upon 
a  morsel  of  food.  As  for  information,  the  case  appeared  still  more 
desperate;  for  though  every  man  present  seemed  as  martially  in- 
clined as  I  (indeed,  the  conversation  ran  on  nothing  but  blood  and 
battle),  and  perfectly  well  disposed  to  hold  forth  on  the  subject 
that  engrossed  all  minds  to  any  one  at  all  inclined  to  listen,  I  could 
obtain  no  information  of  any  one  man  that  was  not  immediately  con- 


134  ADVENTURES    OF 

tradicted  by  the  next  person  to  whom  I  addressed  myself.  In  short, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  learned  but  that  the  British  had  landed, 
or  were  about  to  land,  somewhere  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake, 
and  that  sundry  companies  of  militia  and  volunteers  either  had  set 
out,  or  were  on  the  point  of  setting  out,  with  the  full  intention 
of  sweeping  these  audacious  invaders  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 


KOBIN    DAY.  135 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Robin  Day  incurs  a  great  danger,  and  surrenders  to  his  unrelent- 
ing pursuer,  John  Dabs,  but  calls  his  wisdom,  to  his  assistance 
and  performs  a  wonderful  feat  of  dexterity. 

THE  patriotic  spirit  manifested  by  all  the  company  greatly  in- 
creased the  fervor  of  my  own  ;  so  that,  having  completed  my  sup- 
per, I  resolved  at  once  to  seek  out,  with  mine  host's  assistance, 
some  one  of  the  many  bands  preparing  to  march  to  the  field  of 
honor,  and  enrol  myself  among  them.  I  left  the  supper  table 
and  proceeded  to  the  bar  room,  where  I  was  in  the  act  of  receiving 
the  advice  I  wanted,  when  a  new  comer  brushed  me  aside,  and 
engaged  the  innkeeper's  attention  by  eagerly  demanding  "if 
there  was  not  in  his  house  a  young  fellow  that  had  arrived  by  the 
city  stage,  and"- 

But  I  did  not  remain  to  hear  anything  further.  The  first  words 
struck  me  with  a  panic,  which  was  vastly  increased  by  a  look  at 
the  stranger's  face,  in  which  I  immediately  recognized  the  well- 
known  lineaments  of  a  certain  John  Dabs,  a  constable  of  our  town, 
and  famous  for  his  energy  and  success  in  hunting  up  transgressors 
and  fugitives  from  the  law,  whenever  there  was  anything  to  be 
gained  by  it.  I  immediately  made  a  demonstration  towards  the 
door,  but  John  Dabs,  whose  eyes  were  as  busy  as  his  tongue  and 
speedily  detected  the  movement,  was  too  quick  for  me. 

"  I've  got  you,  by  jingo  !"  cried  John  Dabs,  taking  me  by  the 
shoulder  and  grinning  with  triumph,  while  I  almost  fainted  with 
terror  and  despair.  In  an  instant,  we  were  surrounded  by  curious 
spectators,  some  demanding  "  what  I  had  done,"  while  others  dis- 
dained inquiry,  swearing,  one,  that  I  was  "  a  runaway  prisoner  of 
war  ;"  another  "  that  I  had  stolen  a  horse,  he  knew  by  the  look  of 
me  ;"  a  third  that  I  was  "  a  kidnapper,  a  Georgeye  nigger  steal- 
er,"  and  so  on,  so  that  I  soon  began  to  believe  myself  guilty  of 
all  the  crimes  that  had  ever  been  committed. 

In  this  emergency,  Mr.  John  Dabs,  to  my  extreme  surprise,  and 


136  ADVENTURES     OF 

somewhat  also  to  my  gratification,  as  relieving  me  from  exposure 
and  the  disgrace  of  the  moment,  declared  "  I  was  no  criminal,  but 
a  young  gentleman  what  had  run  away  from  his  friends,  who  had 
employed  him,  John  Dabs,  to  carry  me  back  to  them  ;  and  that 
he  was  very  glad  to  find  me,  as  I  was  a  young  gentleman  what 
didn't  know  the  world,  and  my  friends  was  all  in  a  peck  of 
troubles  because  of  me."  With  which  explanation,  that  appeared 
very  satisfactory  to  all  the  company,  Mr.  John  Dabs  asked,  with 
an  appearance  almost  of  civility  and  respect,  to  have  a  little  private 
talk  with  me,  a  proposal  to  which  I,  of  course,  very  courteously 
acceded,  and  accompanied  him  to  a  private  room,  with  hangdog 
looks  I  douBt  not,  but  busily  plotting  a  thousand  plans  of  escape 
from  his  inexorable  clutches. 

The  moment  we  had  got  by  ourselves,  Mr.  Dabs  began  to  in- 
dulge in  sundry  encomiastic  gratulations  on  his  success  in  finding 
me  out,  then  laughed  immoderately  at  the  alarm  I  had  betrayed, 
when  seized  by  him,  asking  me  "  if  I  did  not  think  I  was  certainly 
to  be  carried  to  the  gallows  ?"  and  ended  by  assuring  me  I  had 
nothing  to  fear  in  that  way,  or  any  other  ;  for  why  ?  Mr.  M'Gog- 
gin  was  neither  dead  nor  dying,  and  none  the  worse  for  his  broken 
head — «  when  was  an  Irishman  ever  ?"  said  John  Dabs,  the  con- 
stable ;  "  no,  he  was  out  of  danger,  on  his  feet,  as  well  as  ever  he 
was,  and  had  been  bought  off  by  my  benefactor,  Dr.  Howard,  not 
to  appear  against  me,  and  sent  away  by  the  trustees,  who  were  re- 
solved to  have  no  more  barbarian  teachers.  Upon  this  happy  re- 
sult, he  declared,  Dr.  Howard  had  come  to  a  determination  to  have 
me  back  again  ;  for  why  ?  he  was  afraid  the  sea  would  be  the  ruin 
of  me,  and  had  sent  for  him,  John  Dabs,  to  hunt  me  up  and  bring 
me  back,  offering  a  handsome  reward  if  he  should  find  me ;  where- 
upon he,  the  said  John  Dabs,  had  followed  me  to  Philadelphia,  in- 
quired for  me  in  vain  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  lost  all  track  of  me,  but 
stumbled  upon  that  of  my  friend  General  Dare,  who  had,  the  day 
before,  left  Philadelphia  by  the  Wilmington  road,  and  with  whom 
he  doubted  not  he  should  find  me  ;  and,  accordingly,  taking  the 
road  on  his  own  horse,  and  making  inquiries  at  every  stopping 
place,  he  had  at  last  heard  of  me  in  the  stage  ("  sly  dog,"  said 
John  Dabs,  "  not  to  enter  it  in  Philadelphia  !"),  and  so  lined  me 
straight  to  the  tavern,  where  he  had  me  as  dead  as  a  herring,  as  well 
as  his  hundred  dollars  from  the  doctor,  and  something  handsome 
from  me,  as  he  expected,  for  bringing  me  such  happy  intelligence. 


ROBIN    DAY.  137 

But  this  happy  intelligence,  which,  the  reader  may  suppose,  filled 
me  with  joy  and  transport,  did  not  by  any  means  produce  the 
agreeable  effect  that  Mr.  John  Dabs  anticipated.  I  had  not  yet 
forgotten  the  events  of  the  preceding  night,  with  my  reflections 
thereon,  and  especially  the  resolution  I  had  so  lately  framed  not 
to  be  made  a  dupe  a  second  time  by  mortal  man.  I  saw  very 
clearly  that  Mr.  John  Dabs  was  a  very  cunning  personage,  an  ex- 
perienced thief -taker,  who  very  well  knew  how  to  manage  a  pris- 
oner with  the  least  trouble  to  himself,  by  flattering  away  his  fears, 
and  lulling  him  into  a  false  security.  In  short,  I  did  not  believe  a 
word  of  his  story,  being  convinced,  in  my  own  secret  heart,  that 
it  was  a  villainous  fabrication,  from  beginning  to  end,  devised  for 
the  purpose  of  deluding  me  back  to  New  Jersey,  or  to  the  nearest 
prison,  like  a  lamb  to  the  butcher,  unsuspicious  of  evil;  nay,  dream- 
ing, like  that  woolly  representative  of  innocence  and  simplicity, 
only  of  green  leas  and  enameled  meadows,  while  capering  onwards 
to  the  slaughter  house.  "  No,  no,  Mr.  John  Dabs,"  thought  I  to 
myself,  "you'll  not  catch  me  napping  so  easy." 

Perceiving,  therefore,  Mr.  Dabs'  true  drift,  I  was  by  no  means 
enraptured  at  the  account  he  gave  me  ;  though,  after  a  moment's 
consideration,  I  feigned  to  be.  It  occurred  to  me,  moreover,  that 
while  Mr.  John  Dabs  was  so  busy  cajoling  me,  I  might  profit 
somewhat  by  playing  the  same  game  with  him.  So  long  as  he 
should  think  it  proper  to  have  me  believe  I  was  not  his  prisoner, 
it  was  manifestly  necessary  he  should  act  the  character  rather  of  a 
friendly  emissary  than  a  jailor,  avoiding,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
appearance  of  constraining  or  watching  my  motions  ;  and  it  was 
equally  clear  that  he  would  allow  me  a  longer  tether,  the  more  he 
was  satisfied  I  was  the  unsuspecting  dupe  of  his  cunning.  I  was 
resolved  to  have  him  think  I  entertained  no  doubt  of  his  story 
whatever. 

Acting  upon  this  resolution,  I  told  him  I  was  very  glad  to  see 
him,  and  asked,  with  feigned  composure,  the  news  from  our  town, 
and  above  all,  how  my  patron  did,  how  Don  Pedro,  and  how — 
sinner  that  I  was  that  I  could  not  name  her  whom  I  should  have 
most  desired  to  hear  about — how  everybody  else  ? 

"  Oh,"  said  Mr.  John  Dabs,  "  all  well  enough,  except  the  Doctor 
and  his  daughter  Nannie  "  (so  the  scoundrel  called  her) ;  "  both  of 
whom  is  quite  killed  up  about  you — if  they  ain't  I'm  blowed — the 
poor  gal  in  partickilar  ;  and  they  do  say,"  continued  the  villain, 


138  ADVENTURES    OP 

with  an  air  of  the  most  sympathetic  condolence,  "it's  all  on 
account  of  her  true  love  for  you  ;  and  old  Mammy  Jones,  the 
baker's  wife,  told  my  wife  Sue,  f  she  reckoned  she'd  die,  poor  soul, 
for  grieving  after  you,1  and  she  reckoned  that  was  the  reason  the 
Doctor  was  so  mad  to  have  you  back  again." 

I  was  so  much  affected  at  the  mere  thought  of  Nanna  being 
sick,  that  it  was  not  until  a  moment  or  two  I  remembered  this  was 
but  an  additional  falsehood  contrived  by  Mr.  Constable  Dabs  to 
help  him  in  his  business  of  getting  me  safely  back  to  New  Jersey; 
but  when  I  did  remember  it,  I  was  so  much  incensed  at  the  free- 
dom with  which  he  had  spoken  of  her,  that  I  longed  to  knock 
him  over  the  head  with  the  chair,  from  which  his  cruel  fiction  had 
startled  me.  I  recovered  myself,  however,  in  an  instant,  told  him 
"  care  killed  a  cat  "  (for  which  sagacious  observation  I  know  not 
how  to  account  for  my  using  on  such  an  occasion,  unless  it  was 
that  I  modestly  wished  to  deprecate  the  idea  of  anybody  dying 
for  me),  and  then  proposed  to  show  my  gratitude  for  the  good 
news  he  had  brought  me  by  treating  him  to  a  bottle  of  wine,  the 
best  the  inn  could  afford. 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  quoth  John  Dabs,  "  but,  considering  the 
hard  ride  I've  had  over  this  cruel  bad  road,  I  don't  care  if  you  call 
it  a  quart  of  brandy  toddy."  On  my  agreeing  to  which,  Mr. 
Dabs  got  up  to  ring  the  bell  for  a  servant,  an  operation  that  he 
repeated  thrice  over  without  the  least  effect,  the  house  being  in 
such  a  hubbub  of  confusion  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  sound 
wduld  have  been  noticed  short  of  a  flourish  of  British  trumpets, 
or  the  sudden  cannonade  of  besiegers. 

Seeing  this,  I  was  resolved  to  try  my  hand  at  a  stratagem,  and 
complaining  suddenly  of  feeling  sick  and  faint,  at  which  Mr.  Dabs 
expressed  as  much  concern  as  if  he  was  not  engaged  in  the  very 
act  of  leading  me  to  the  gallows,  I  begged  he  would  do  me  the 
favor,  as  no  servants  appeared  likely  to  answer  the  bell,  to  step  to 
the  bar  room  and  order  the  brandy  toddy  in  person,  together  with 
a  little  peppermint  and  sugar,  which  I  had  no  doubt  would  soon 
render  me  able  to  join  him  in  discussing  the  better  beverage. 

To  this  Mr.  Dabs  assented  with  the  most  benevolent  readiness, 
and  immediately,  to  my  inexpressible  satisfaction,  and  almost 
wonder  (for  I  could  hardly  believe  the  duper  would  allow  him- 
self to  be  duped  so  easily),  left  the  room,  and  went  down  stairs, 
assuring  me  he  would  he  back  before  I  could  say  Jack  Robinson. 


EOBIN   DAY.  139 

It  is  highly  probable  he  kept  his  promise,  but  I  did  not  remain 
to  verify  that  important  particular.  The  moment  Mr.  John  Dabs' 
figure  vanished  from  the  door,  that  very  moment  my  own  slipped 
softly  out  of  the  window,  taking  a  leap  of  some  twelve  or  four- 
teen feet,  for  the  window  was  at  least  so  high  above  the  street,  of 
which,  under  other  circumstances,  I  should  not  have  been  at  all 
ambitious  to  make  trial.  But  I  was  leaping  for  freedom,  for  lif e  ; 
it  was  my  only  chance  of  escaping  the  halter,  which  my  rencontre 
with  Mr.  Dabs  had  conjured  up  before  my  imagination  the  noose 
already  yawning  for  my  neck.  Nor  did  I  receive  any  injury  from 
the  fall,  except  jarring  my  legs  a  little,  though  even  this  was  an 
evil  that  passed  off,  and  was  forgotten  in  a  moment. 


140  ADVENTUKES    OF 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

How  it  appeared  that  Robin  Day  had  no  such  great  cause  to  plume 
himself  on  his  adroitness. 

HAVING  reached  the  ground,  and  fortunately,  without  being 
seen  by  any  one,  notwithstanding  that  the  street  was  full  of 
people,  I  stole  out  of  the  town,  taking  a  course  indicated  by  the 
north-star  (the  night  being  extremely  bright  and  beautiful),  which 
I  knew  from  having,  before  supper,  consulted  a  large  map  that 
hung  in  the  bar  room,  led  to  the  nearest  waters  of  the  Chesapeake. 
The  moment  I  found  myself  clear  of  the  crowd  and  the  town,  and, 
as  I  could  not  doubt,  upon  the  proper  road,  I  quickened  my  pace, 
or  rather,  I  ran  as  fast  as  I  could,  determined  to  leave  no  effort 
untried  to  put  myself  out  of  the  danger  of  pursuit  by  Mr.  John 
Dabs.  What  he  had  told  me  of  my  friend  Dicky  Dare  leaving 
Philadelphia  by  the  Wilmington  road  the  preceding  day  con- 
vinced me  I  could  not  be  far  behind  my  martial  companion  in  mis- 
fortune, whom  I  was  quite  certain  I  should  find  in  company  with 
the  first  soldiers  I  might  overtake  on  the  road  ;  and  some  gallant 
band  or  other,  I  doubted  not,  I  should  stumble  upon  before  morn- 
ing, provided  I  employed  due  diligence  in  my  nocturnal  march. 
Of  this  diligence  I  felt  very  capable,  nothwithstanding  my  having 
had  so  little  sleep — I  might  almost  say  no  sleep  at  all — for  so  many 
nights  in  succession.  With  Mr.  John  Dabs  so  close  behind  me, 
I  felt,  and  knew  I  should  continue  to  feel,  no  inclination  to  lose  a 
moment  in  rest  and  inaction  ;  for,  though  I  had  outwitted  that 
worthy  personage  once,  I  thought  it  highly  improbable  I  should 
ever,  if  again  in  his  hands,  have  an  opportunity  to  do  so  a  second 
time. 

The  consciousness,  however,  of  having  out-generaled  this  crafty 
individual,  beaten  him,  an  experienced  and  veteran  warrior,  at  his 
own  weapons,  was,  I  may  say,  one  of  the  many  stimulants  I  had  to 
nerve  me  on  to  new  and  more  manly  exertions.  The  reflection  of 
my  victory  over  him  was  first  satisfactory,  as  having  released  me- 


ROBIN   DAY.  141 

from  the  meshes  of  the  law;  but  it  was  a  subject  of  equal  if  not 
greater  exultation,  as  an  evidence  of  my  own  wisdom  and  address. 
I  began  to  feel  that  my  morning  resolution  had  completed  my 
education,  and  carried  me  over  the  last  barrier  between  youth  and 
manhood.  "  Yes,"  said  I  to  myself,  swelling  with  a  sense  of  dig- 
nity, a  consciousness  of  resource  and  importance  I  had  not  before 
felt,  "  he  who  can  outwit  John  Dabs,  the  constable,  need  not  fear 
a  conflict  with  any  man.  Treat  every  man  as  a  rogue  until  he 
proves  himself  honest,  and  one  will  be  sure  to  escape  roguery  !" 

The  only  unhappiness  in  this  case,  as  I  may  here  state,  though 
it  was  a  long  time  before  I  discovered  it,  was:  that  besides  duping 
Mr.  John  Dabs  so  handsomely,  I  had  duped  another  individual 
much  more  egregiously;  and  that  individual  was — myself.  Mr. 
John  Dabs  had,  after  all,  told  me  nothing  but  the  truth.  Instead 
of  being  sent  after  me,  to  arrest  and  bear  me  back  to  prison,  he 
was,  in  reality,  what  he  had  professed,  an  emissary  employed  by 
my  patron  to  bear  me  the  good  news  of  M'Goggin's  recovery,  and 
conduct  me  home;  for,  it  seems,  upon  learning  my  friend  Dicky 
Dare  had  also  fled,  and  with  a  design  to  play  the  soldier,  he 
shrewdly  suspected  Dicky  would  decoy  me  into  the  same  enterprise, 
and  that  something  more  was  necessary  to  my  restoration  than  a 
mere  message  of  recall  addressed  to  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  to  whom  it 
might  admit  of  a  question  whether  under  such  circumstances,  I  would 
report  myself.  It  was,  perhaps,  unlucky  that  the  ambassador  had  been 
selected  from  among  the  constabulary ;  but  I  am  not  certain  I  should 
not  have  been  struck  with  quite  as  much  terror  at  the  appearance  of  a 
private  messenger — any  person,  in  truth,  coming  from  our  town — 
and  played  him  the  same  trick  I  had  practisedon  honest  John  Dabs. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  my  first  exercise  of  new-born  wisdom 
was  entirely  at  my  own  expense;  which  is,  I  believe,  the  usual  way 
in  which  it  is  exercised,  wisdom  being  a  kind  of  edge  tool,  where- 
with young  philosophers  are  more  apt  to  cut  their  own  fingers  than 
to  employ  it  to  a  profitable  purpose.  Had  I  been  less  sagacious, 
less  bent  upon  guarding  myself  from  the  rogueries  of  my  species, 
I  should  have  saved  myself  a  deal  of  trouble  and  adventure,  of 
affliction  and  peril,  which  I  was  now  destined  to  encounter.  But  I 
should  have  also  lost  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  world  and  gain- 
ing my  experience  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  as  well  as  of  arriv- 
ing at  certain  discoveries  of  no  little  consequence  and  influence 
over  my  future  fortunes. 


142  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER     XXVII. 

Robin  Day,  after  sundry  alarming  adventures,  finds  himself  at  last 
a  volunteer,  and  on  the  eve  of  going  into  battle. 

I  TRAVELED  with  great  diligence  all  the  night,  inspired  in  part 
by  the  fear  of  being  pursued  by  the  truculent  John  Dabs,  and  in 
part  by  the  hope  of  overtaking  some  gallant  band  of  patriots  en- 
camped on  the  road,  with  perhaps  General  Dicky  Dare  among 
them.  In  this  hope  I  was  destined  to  be  gratified,  though,  as  it 
proved,  not  precisely  in  manner  and  form  as  I  had  fondly  an- 
ticipated. 

I  had  trudged  along,  perhaps,  three  or  four  hours,  passing 
through  one  or  two  villages,  in  each  of  which  my  presence  created 
a  terrible  confusion ;  first,  by  alarming  all  the  dogs,  and  thereby 
their  masters,  all  of  whom  I  believe,  in  my  conscience,  attributed 
the  sudden  uproar  to  an  assault  by  Admiral  Cockburn  and  all  his 
vagabond  banditti,  when  it  was  my  fortune  to  reach  another  little 
rural  town,  upon  the  skirts  of  which  it  happened  a  band  of  volun- 
teers had  made  their  camp  around  a  huge  watchfire,  where  they 
were  snoozing  away  the  night  dreaming,  of  conquest  and  glory.  A 
sentinel,  for  my  sins,  had  been  stationed  upon  the  road  by  which  I 
advanced,  who,  being  waked  out  of  some  vision  of  blood  and  battle 
by  the  sound  of  my  footsteps,  was  seized  with  a  direful  panic, 
and  roaring  out,  "The  British  !  the  British!"  let  fly  at  me  with  his 
musket,  and  then  took  to  his  heels,  alarming  his  comrades,  who 
sprang  from  their  beds  and  fled  with  equal  speed  and  spirit,  each 
firing  off  his  piece,  like  the  sentinel,  though  for  what  purpose,  un- 
less in  hopes  to  do  some  chance  execution  on  the  assailing  foe,  I 
never  could  divine. 

I  am  sorry  to  say,  this  very  unexpected  reception  produced  a 
somewhat  unheroic  perturbation  in  my  own  spirits,  so  that  I  was 
suddenly  seized  with  the  apprehension — notwithstanding  that  the 
soldier's  cries  very  plainly  declared  the  contrary — that  I  had  stum- 
bled upon  a  party  of  invaders,  instead  of  Americans;  an  idea  that 


BOBEST    DAY.  143 

prevailed  upon  me  to  such  an  effect,  that  I  began  to  run  away  as 
furiously  as  they ;  and,  to  be  the  more  certain  of  getting  out  of 
danger,  I  sprang  from  the  road  into  the  fields,  and  thence  ran  into 
a  wood,  where  I  was  soon  as  thoroughly  amazed  and  bewildered  as 
if  buried  in  the  depths  of  a  Western  wilderness. 

Having  wandered  about  in  this  bosky  refuge  for  several  hours, 
reflecting  upon  the  adventure,  I  became  at  length  convinced  I  had 
made  a  mistake  in  supposing  myself  among  the  British,  and,  being 
heartily  sick  of  the  woods,  as  well  as  excessively  fatigued,  I  re- 
solved to  extricate  myself  as  fast  as  I  could,  look  up  some  farm 
house,  and  beg  shelter  an  d  a  bed  for  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

From  the  wood  I  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  a  farm  house  I  was 
lucky  enough  to  find ;  but  there  ended  my  good  fortune,  for,  be- 
sides being  direfully  barked  at  by  dogs,  that  seemed  only  waiting 
their  master's  orders  to  tear  me  to  pieces,  I  had  no  sooner 
come  within  pistol-shot  of  the  house  than  up  flew  the  windows,  and 
out  came  the  contents  of  some  six  or  seven  muskets,  fired  at  me  by 
as  many  heroic  inmates,  -whom  I  could  hear  calling  to  one  another, 
in  an  ecstasy  of  patriotic  fury,  to  "  defend  the  house  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity." This  dreadful  volley  was  followed  by  an  immediate 
charge  of  the  dogs,  by  whom  I  was  driven,  with  loss,  from  the 
field,  and  compelled  to  ascend  a  tree,  where,  though  out  of  reach 
of  the  animals,  who  kept  up  a  dismal  barking  below,  I  was  in  mo- 
mentary expectation  of  dying  the  death  of  a  treed  bear — that  is, 
of  being  followed  and  shot  down  by  some  of  those  ardent  worthies, 
the  defenders  of  the  house. 

To  prevent  a  catastrophe  so  imminent,  I  fell  to  work  with  my 
penknife,  the  only  weapon  in  my  possession,  and  cut  me  off  a  huge 
bough  from  the  tree  ;  with  which  I  descended,  nerved  to  despera- 
tion, among  my  canine  besiegers,  and  charging  them  with  great 
intrepidity,  knocking  one  over  the  head,  and  breaking  the  leg  of  a 
second,  besides  dealing  a  world  of  lesser  injuries  around,  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  put  them  entirely  to  rout,  and  thus  secure  an  un- 
disturbed retreat. 

I  had  now  little  difficulty  in  making  my  way  to  a  high  road, 
though  without  being  able  to  say  whether  or  not  it  was  the  one  I 
had  left  when  repulsed  from  the  village.  To  add  to  my  difficulties, 
the  sky  became  now  so  overcast  with  clouds  that  I  could  no  longer 
determine  the  points  of  the  compass,  and  knew  not  in  what  direc- 
tion I  ought  to  proceed.  My  adventures  in  the  village  and  at  the 


144  ADVENTURES     OF 

farm  house  had  not  cooled  my  desire  to  reach  the  scene  of  action 
on  the  Chesapeake.  Indeed,  I  had  no  other  resource;  and  the 
hopes  of  finding  my  friend  Dicky  Dare,  without  whose  advice 
and  assistance  I  felt  it  next  to  impossible  to  tread  aright  the  dan- 
gerous paths  of  glory,  were  enough  of  themselves  to  urge  me  on. 
But  how  to  proceed  was  now  the  question,  to  solve  which  I  took  a 
seat  upon  a  stump  at  the  roadside,  where,  at  the  first  effort  to 
call  up  my  thoughts,  being  inexpressibly  worn  and  wearied,  I  fell 
sound  asleep. 

The  two  previous  nights,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  were 
passed  almost  wholly  without  sleep,  and  the  present  made,  as  I 
may  say,  the  third  in  which  I  had  not  closed  my  eyes,  for  I  be- 
lieve it  was  well  nigh  dawn  when  I  dropped  asleep.  Sound,  dead, 
and  long,  therefore,  were  my  slumbers,  and  it  was  not  until  many 
hours  after  the  sun  had  risen  that  I  again  opened  my  eyes  and 
rose  from  the  sod,  whereon  (for  I  had  rolled,  in  my  sleep,  off  the 
stump)  I  certainly  enjoyed  as  pleasant  a  nap  as  I  had  ever  known 
in  my  life. 

I  was  wakened  by  sounds  the  most  agreeable,  at  that  time,  that 
could  fall  upon  my  ears  ;  they  were  bursts  of  military  music,  the 
roll  of  a  distant  drum  that  accompanied  a  fife,  breathing  out  the 
spirit-stirring  notes  of  Yankee  Doodle. 

"  Bravo  !"  said  I,  kindling  with  joy  and  enthusiasm  ;  "  I  shall 
now  be  a  volunteer,  and  Mr.  John  Dabs,  and  cowardly  villagers, 

and  barking  dogs,  and  their  crazy  masters  may  all  go  to  the " 

it  is  no  matter  to  whom. 

I  followed  the  sounds,  and  by  and  by  I  caught  sight  of  the  mar- 
tial band  from  which  they  proceeded,  consisting  of  no  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  persons  in  all,  whose  odd  appearance  and  equipments 
struck  me  with  amazement.  Their  dresses  were  by  no  means  mil- 
itary, no  two  being  decked  precisely  alike  ;  some  had  long  coats, 
some  jackets,  and  some  neither  jacket  nor  coat;  but  most  of  them 
had  scarfs,  or  what  were  meant  for  scarfs,  of  all  imaginable  hues — 
red,  yellow,  green,  blue — tied  about  their  loins,  and  a  few  had 
even  additional  ones  wrapped  round  their  hats.  Their  arms  were 
as  various  as  their  accoutrements,  each  man  having  a  hanger  at 
his  side,  and  a  belt  stuck  full  of  pistols,  besides  guns,  of  which 
there  seemed  a  plentiful  variety  ;  some  marching  with  one  on  each 
shoulder,  like  so  many  Robinson  Crusoes.  As  for  their  march,  I 
never  saw  anything  so  disorderly,  every  man  stalking  along  as 


ROBIN    DAT.  145- 

best  pleased  himself,  and  all  swearing,  talking,  whistling,  singingy 
in  a  manner  wonderful  to  observe.  Their  officers  (and  I  almost 
doubted,  at  first,  whether  they  had  any)  seemed  to  be  but  two  in 
number,  and  were  distinguishable  only  by  being  more  obstreperous 
than  their  followers ;  at  least,  the  man  who  marched  at  their  head 
swore  with  a  louder  voice  and  greater  volubility  than  any  one  else, 
except  a  second  worthy  personage,  who  carried  a  banner  of  a  very 
odd  appearance — which,  indeed,  I  afterwards  found  was  an  old  red 
flannel  petticoat — and  seemed  to  aim  at  rivalry  in  profanity  with 
the  other. 

I  immediately  saw,  or  thought  I  saw,  that  thi^,  instead  of  being 
a  band  of  regular  soldiers  or  disciplined  volunteers,  was  a  com- 
pany of  mere  militia-men,  got  together  in  a  hurry,  and  stuffed 
with  Dutch  courage  for  the  occasion,  having  quaffed,  along  with 
the  gallantry  that  swims  in  the  bottle,  a  deal  of  the  folly  and  per- 
verseness  that  lie  at  the  bottom.  This  was  a  great  disappointment 
to  me,  as  I  should  have  preferred  to  unite  my  fate  with  some 
company  of  soldiers  in  handsome  uniform  ;  but  I  thought  it  was 
not  much  matter  with  what  corps  I  began  my  campaign,  seeing  I 
should  soon,  as  I  hoped,  transfer  my  services  to  another — to  that, 
whichever  it  might  be,  honored  by  the  presence  of  my  friend 
Dicky  Dare. 

Having  solaced  myself  with  this  reflection,  I  advanced  toward 
the  warriors,  who,  at  sight  of  me,  began  to  make  some  demonstra- 
tions of  hostility,  such  as  it  had  been  my  luck  already  twice  to 
meet  during  the  last  eight  hours  ;  that  is,  they  drew,  some  of 
them,  their  swords  and  pistols,  while  others  leveled  their  guns, 
as  if  about  to  blow  or  hew  me  to  atoms,  a  catastrophe  that  was 
averted  partly  by  their  commander  d — g  their  eyes  for  being  so 
ready  to  fight  without  his  orders  (which  reproof,  by  the  way,  was 
immediately  echoed,  in  the  same  tones,  by  the  knight  of  the  petti- 
coat), and  partly  by  myself  calling  out,  with  great  energy,  that  I 
was  a  friend. 

"Friend  be  d — d — that  is — friend,  advance,"  quoth  the  com- 
mander ;  an  injunction  which  I  immediately  obeyed,  though  with 
somewhat  of  fear  and  trembling. 

And  now  I  observed,  as  I  drew  nigh,  that  my  redoubtable 
warriors,  who  were,  three-fourths  of  them  at  least,  in  a  very 
soldierly  condition,  and  the  other  fourth  hastening  to  become  sa 
by  frequent  and  open  application  to  sundry  gourds,  canteens  and 


146  ADVENTURES    OF 

Mack  bottle  that  were  circulating  among  them,  had  taken  as 
good  care  of  the  main  chance  in  the  second  particular  as  the  first, 
facing  quite  as  well  provided  with  meat  as  with  liquor.  There 
was  scarce  a  man  of  them  that  had  not  in  his  hand,  or  upon  his 
faack,  something  wherewithal  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  hunger  ; 
some  bore  fowls,  some  little  pigs,  some  sheep,  and  one  tall  fellow 
was  staggering  under  a  hind  quarter  of  beef,  that  looked  like  a 
gate  of  Gaza  on  his  shoulders.  Even  the  magnificent  captain  him- 
self was  as  well  burdened  as  any  of  his  men,  having  a  garland  of 
young  chickens  hung  round  his  neck  and  a  bundle  of  screaming 
guinea-fowls  hanging  from  his  sash — which  sash,  by  the  way,  bore 
to  my  eyes  a  prodigious  resemblance  to  a  woman's  shawl,  or  some 
other  article  of  female  apparel.  And,  indeed,  the  same  might  be 
said  of  the  brilliant  girdles  and  hatbands  that  adorned  the  persons 
of  the  others,  who  seemed  to  me  to  have  borrowed  largely  of  their 
wives  and  daughters  to  complete  their  equipments. 

The  captain  received  me  with  a  stare  of  mingled  wrath  and  so- 
lemnity, and  demanded,  with  a  dreadfuf  hiccough,  and  still  more 
-dreadful  oath,  "who  I  was." 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  with  as  much  dignity  as  I  could  assume,  though 
somewhat  coufounded  at  the  strange  reception — "my  name  is 
Robin  Day;  and  I  have  come  to  volunteer  my  humble  assistance 
in  this  glorious  service." 

"  Glorious,  by  G — !  "  cried  the  commander;  "never was  on  such 
a  chicken-eating  campaign  in  my  life;  chickens  to  fight  and 
chickens  to  eat — and  oxen  and  assen,  and  piggen  and  sheepen,  and 
— But,  curse  me,  there's  no  time  for  gabble.  Well,  sir,  d — n  my 
•eyes,  consider  yourself  a  prisoner  of  war." 

"  A  prisoner,  sir  !"  said  I,  amazed;  "  I  come  to  volunteer." 

"  Oh,  ay  !  you  do  ?"  quoth  the  officer,  recollecting  himself. 
*"  Well,  then, "-here  he  flung  a  bundle  of  chickens  on  my  shoulders 
— "  hang  on  to  the  roosters,  and  fall  in." 

"Sir,"  said  I,  hastily,  "if  you  will  give  me  a  sword  and  a  mus- 
ket, I  should  much  prefer " 

"  Oh,  you  would,  would  you  ?"  cried  the  captain,  turning,  with 
a,  hiccough,  to  his  men: — "  Here,  you  Black  Jack,  or  Tom  Spike, 
or  some  of  you,  d — n  my  eyes,  han't  you  a  reefer's  toothpick,  or  a 
barking  iron,  or  some  such  bloody  piece  of  business,  for  the  young 
im  ?" 

"Just  the  thing  to  sarve  him,  my  eyes  !"  cried  a  one-eyed  sailor- 


ROBIN   DAY.  147 


looking  fellow,  clapping  on  my  shoulder  a  gun  some  eight  or  ten 
feet  long— a  huge  ducking  piece,  such  as  I  had  heard  fowlers  used, 
but  without  dreaming  it  was  ever  so  horribly  big  and  heavy. 
"Just  the  thing  to  a  ropey  am,"  said  the  one-eyed  man,  grinning 
as  I  embraced,  with  no  good  will,  the  gigantic  weapon,  nearly 
twice  as  long  as  myself;—"  couldn't  fit  better,  my  eyes  !  if  you'd 
been  measured  for  it  by  the  tailor." 

"  Hold  your  jaw,  Sam  Slack,"  quoth  the  captain,  eyeing  me  with 
such  an  approving  look  of  drunken  gravity  that  I  felt  tempted  to 
beg  permission  to  exchange  my  unwieldy  weapon  f  of  another  of 
more  appropriate  size,  as  also  to  hint  a  dignified  desire  to  get  rid  of 
the  chickens;  a  request  that  was,  however,  prevented  by  the  mar- 
tialist  exclaiming,  "  I  likes  them  that's  gentlemen,  and  has  the  game 
in  them.  But,  I  say,  shipmate,  hang  on  to  the  roosters  !r  Then 
turning  to  his  followers,  he  gave  the  word  of  command  to  resume 
the  march— "Attention!  Starboard  your  helm— right  about 
wheel— march.  Strike  up,  music;  let's  have  a  little  more  of  Yankee 

Doodle." 

With  that,  the  music  struck  up,  my  gallant  captain  wadd 
forward,  his  Falstaff  regiment  followed  at  his  heels,  and  I,  who 
had  been  assigned  no  particular  place,  and  therefore  marched,  as 
I  stood,  at  the  commander's  side,  trudged  along  in  equal  time,  won- 
dering much  at  my  brothers  in  arms,  and  perhaps  quite  as  much  at 
myself  for  having  taken  service  with  them. 

It  struck  me  that  these  gallant  personages,  from  the  captain 
down,  had  much  more  of  a  nautical  than  military  character 
about  them,  their  dress  and  speech  alike  smacking  of 
saltwater.  But  this  did  not  appear  very  surprising,  considering 
the  country  where  we  were,  the  shores  of  a  vast  navigable  bay 
or  arm  of  the  sea;  and,  besides,  the  ravages  of  the  enemy,  it 
might  be  supposed,  had  driven  on  shore  the  crews  of  all 
the  bay  vessels,  who  would  very  naturally  band  together  to 
resist  his  further  encroaches  on  the  land.  I  must  confess,  how- 
ever, I  was  greatly  perplexed  by  many  odd  expressions  that  fell 
from  these  amphibious  heroes,  whose  destination,  as  well  as  other 
interesting  particulars  in  relation  to  them,  I  became  very  desirous 
to  learn,  and  addressed  myself  to  the  commander  accordingly. 
The  answer  I  got  was  a  command  to  "  hold  my  peace  and  hang  on 
to  the  roosters,"  accompanied  with  a  look  of  authority  I  durst  not 
dispute. 


148  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

JRobin  Day^s  first  battle  ;  with  a  surprising  discovery  which  Jie 
makes  in  the  midst  of  it. 

So  I  held  my  peace  and  the  chickens,  assumed  a  bold  military 
step,  and  marched  onward  with  my  new  comrades,  until  a  turn  of 
the  road  brought  us  suddenly  in  view  of  a  broad  river,  and  a  vil- 
lage of  some  ten  or  a  dozen  houses  standing  on  its  banks. 
Among  these  we  could  peceive  the  glimmer  of  arms  and  military 
uniforms,  and  a  banner  waving  in  the  wind  over  the  heads  of 
a  company  of  soldiers,  drawn  up  on  the  borders  of  the  river,  evi- 
dently to  receive  a  fleet  of  armed  boats  that  was  seen,  at  no  great 
distance,  ascending  the  tide  with  all  the  force  of  oars.  At  the 
same  time  I  perceived  five  or  six  companies  similar  to  our  own, 
but  most  of  them  more  numerous,  and  some  of  them  of  a  much 
more  orderly  and  soldier-like  appearance,  marching  from  different 
points,  over  the  fields  towards  the  village,  one  of  which  imme- 
diately effected  a  junction  with  us,  its  conductor,  of  superior 
rank  to  our  own  leader,  assuming  the  command  over  us,  and  unit- 
ing us  to  his  own  company.  He  signalized  his  authority  by 
d — ning  his  subordinate's  eyes,  and  telling  him  he  was  drunk ;  by 
pronouncing  the  company  a  set  of  lubbers  and  horse-marines  ;  by 
thwacking  the  knight  of  the  petticoat  over  the  back  with  the  flat 
of  his  sword  for  calling  him  Swabs,  and  offering  him,  with  drunken 
generosity,  a  sop  from  a  black  bottle  which  he  produced  ;  and, 
finally,  turning  to  me,  he  demanded  very  magisterially,  "  who  I  was, 
and  what  the  devil  I  was  doing  with  my  long  nine  "  (meaning  the 
duck  gun),  "at  the  head  of  the  company,  marching  like  a  bull- 
frog under  a  bean-pole  ?  " 

I  replied,  as  I  had  done  before,  that  "  I  was  a  volunteer,"  at 
which  he  looked  surprised,  and  was  about  to  ask  me  further  ques- 
tions, when  the  sudden  report  of  a  musket  from  the  village,  an- 
swered by  a  lusty  hurrah  from  the  boats,  and  from  some  of  the 
companies  on  shore,  put  other  matters  into  his  mind,  and  he  has- 


KOBIN    DAY.  149 

tily  exclaimed,  addressing  especially  my  disorderly  brothers-in- 
arms, "  Now,  you  drunken  blackguards,  fight  like  bull-dogs,  or 
I'll  marry  you  to  the  gunner's  daughter,  every  one  of  you.  There's 
the  enemy  in  the  town,  already  banging  at  us,  d'ye  see  ;  and  there 
are  the  boats  trying  to  overhaul  the  ragamuffins  before  us,  d'ye 
see ;  give  way — quick  step  ;  make  ready  for  a  broadside,  and  car- 
ry the  ship  by  boarding." 

With  these  words  he  drew  his  sword,  and  putting  himself  at  our 
head,  led  the  way  gallantly  towards  the  town  ;  in  which  example 
he  was  imitated  by  the  leaders  of  the  other  companies,  all  of  them, 
as  I  now  observed,  quickening  their  march,  as  if  to  see  which 
should  first  reach  the  field  of  battle. 

The  words  of  my  new  commander  filled  me  with  confusion.  I 
had,  all  along,  supposed  we  were  marching  to  the  town  to  rein- 
force its  defenders,  and  repel  the  British,  then  approaching  against 
it  in  boats.  What  did  my  commander  mean  by  calling  the  village 
troops  "  the  enemy  ?"  and  what  did  they  mean  by  firing,  or,  in  his 
eloquent  phraseology,  banging  at  us  ?  for  it  seemed  the  musket 
shot  had  been  aimed  at  us. 

As  these  questions  occurred  to  me,  I  gave  another  look  to  the 
town,  which  we  were  now  approaching  at  charging  speed,  and  per- 
ceived that  the  flag  waving  over  the  heads  of  its  defenders  was 
starred  and  striped — that  is,  an  American  flag;  there  was  no  mis- 
taking that,  for  our  leader  called  attention  to  it  by  crying,  "  There 
goes  the  gridiron — give  'em  a  sight  of  the  red  bunting  !"  I  looked 
round  upon  the  banner  which  was  immediately  displayed  over  our 
own  heads;  and,  horror  of  horrors,  it  bore  the  bloody  cross  of 
Britain  ! 

Our  commander  noted  my  looks  of  confusion,  and  exclaimed, 
with  great  ire,  waving  his  sword  as  if  about  to  cut  me  down,  but 
without  relaxing  his  steps, — "  What !  you  cowardly  rascal  !  is 
that  the  way  you  volunteer  to  fight  the  enemies  of  your  king 
and  country?  Fight  bravely,  you  dog,  or  I'll  slice  you  to 
pieces  ! " 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  in  great  distress,  "  I  have  made  a  mistake — I  have 
volunteered  on  the  wrong  side  !  "  Which  was  no  more  than  true, 
as  I  now  clearly  perceived,  having,  in  my  great  hurry  to  enter 
upon  the  glorious  life  of  a  patriot  soldier,  taken  service  along  with 
a  band  of  marauders — foraging  sailors,  whom  I  had  mistaken  for 
soldiers,  and,  worse  than  all,  for  American  militia-men. 


150  ADVENTURES  OP 

But  the  error  was  now  irretrievable.  Business  was  waxing 
thick  and  hot  on  my  commander's  hands;  the  enemy — that  is,  his 
enemy,  not  mine — were  nigh  at  hand,  and  shots  began  to  be  fired 
from  various  quarters ;  the  scent  of  gunpowder  was  in  his  nostrils, 
and  the  savor  of  plunder  on  his  lips;  and  to  my  piteous  exclama- 
tion, "  I  was  on  the  wrong  side,"  he  deigned  no  other  reply  than  a 
hasty  "D — n  the  difference — fight  away  like  a  brave  fellow  ^'add- 
ing to  my  comrades,  "  Now,  men,  give  them  a  shot,  and  at  'em 
like  bulldogs  ! " 

Bang !  bang!  went  twenty  guns  about  my  ears,  and  I  immedi- 
ately felt  myself  borne  towards  the  village  by  a  rush  of  my  com- 
panions, among  whom  I  was  swept,  whether  I  would  or  not,  re- 
ceiving, every  now  and  then,  the  prick  of  a  bayonet  or  cutlass  in 
the  back  from  some  hasty  brother-in-arms,  by  which  my  steps  were 
wonderfully  accelerated.  In  short,  I  marched  into  the  village; 
which,  being  speedily  cleared  of  its  defenders,  though  how  I  never 
knew,  being  too  much  frightened  to  make  any  observations  on  the 
action,  was  taken  possession  of,  plundered,  set  in  flames,  and  then 
immediately  evacuated,  the  victors  embarking  in  the  boats  with 
their  plunder  and  my  unlucky  self,  whom  the  strangeness  of  the 
adventure  left  still  overwhelmed  with  amazement  and  terror. 


BOBIN   DAY.  151 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

How,  by  a  second  exercise  of  his  new-born  wisdom,  Robin  Day  es- 
capes a  terrible  difficulty.  He  meets  two  old  friends,  and  has 
a  controversy  with  Skipper  Duck. 

I  POUND  myself,  as  soon  as  I  had  collected  my  wits  sufficiently  to 
look  around  me,  crammed  into  a  barge  with  as  many  of  my  new 
companions-in-arms  and  as  much  plunder  of  various  kinds  as  the 
boat  would  hold.  At  my  side  was  the  valiant  personage,  the  sup- 
posed captain  of  militia,  to  whom  I  had  first  offered  my  patri- 
otic services,  and  who  now  wore  a  tattered  handkerchief  round  his 
jaws,  in  token  they  had  received  some  damage  in  the  action ;  and 
in  the  stern  was  his  superior,  our  gallant  leader,  now  in  command 
of  the  boat.  Around  us  were  other  boats,  forming  quite  a  fleet,  all 
as  much  crowded  and  deeply  laden  as  our  own,  and  all  rapidly  de- 
scending the  river  towards  a  squadron  of  armed  schooners  and 
shallops,  which  were  seen  at  anchor  some  six  or  seven  miles  be- 
low. 

The  sight  of  these  vessels — prizes  picked  up  in  the  bay,  and 
now  employed  in  ravaging  its  inmost  nooks  and  corners,  in  which, 
once  embarked  in  them,  I  knew  not  to  what  further  warlike  ex- 
peditions against  my  own  countrymen  I  might  be  led,  filled  me 
with  desperation;  and  I  immediately  desired  the  commander's  at- 
tention to  my  case  by  assuring  him,  as  before,  that  I  had  made  a 
mistake,  "  of  which,"  I  told  him,  "  it  was  my  opinion  he  could  not, 
as  a  gentleman,  take  advantage;  and,  therefore,  I  expected  he 
would  immediately  set  me  ashore." 

"  Ha  '."cried  the  commander,  "I  remember  you;  fought  like 
a  born  devil — highly  approve  of  your  spirit — didn't  think  it  was 
in  you.  But — now  I  think  of  it — you  are  a  volunteer,  ha?  Who 
are  you,  and  where  did  you  copie  from  ?  " 

"Sir,"  said  I,  "  my  name  is  Robin  Day;  I  am  not  a  volunteer — 
at  least  not  on  your  side.  I  have  made  a  mistake,  sir;  I  am  an 
American." 


152  ADVENTURES    OF 

"  The  devil  you  are  !  "  quoth  the  officer,  staring  at  me  with  as- 
tonishment; while  my  late  leader  opened  his  bandaged  jaws  to 
give  utterance  to  a  horselaugh,  in  which  he  was  joined  by  all  the 
boat's  crew, and  to  the  exclamation,  "Here's  a  Johnny  Raw,  d — n 
my  eyes  ! " 

"Hold your  jaw,  Tom  Gunner,  you  drunken  jackass;  and  you, 
men,  mind  your  eyes,  d — n  me  !  "  quoth  the  commander,  irefully. 
He  gave  me  another  stare  as  full  of  surprise  as  the  first,  re-echoed 
my  confession — "  An  American  !  "  and  then  turned  to  Tom  Gun- 
ner to  resolve  the  riddle:  "Here,  you  lubber,"  he  cried,  "  what 
means  all  this  ?  Where  did  you  pick  up  the  younker  ?  " 

"  'Long  shore,"  said  Tom  Gunner,  with  a  hiccough ;  "  came  a  vol- 
unteering for  his  king  and  country — grabbed  roosters  like  a  wea- 
sel, and  fought  the  enemy  like  a  tomcat !  Says  he  to  me,  says  he 
— hiccough — says  he  to  me,  '  Captain  '  (for  d'ye  see,  my  eyes  !  he 
takes  me  for  a  commodore) — says  he  to  me,  says  he;  he  did,  lieu- 
tenant, by  G — !  "  And  here  the  worthy  speaker  came  to  a  stand, 
admiring  at  the  wonderfulness  of  my  communication,  of  which, 
however,  he  forgot  he  had  not  related  one  word. 

"  Hark  you,  Sam  Slack,"  quoth  the  officer,  turning  to  the  one- 
eyed  man  from  whom  I  had  received  the  long  nine;  "  you  are  the 
only  man  of  the  boatswain's  gang  not  as  drunk  as  himself;  how 
did  you  come  by  the  young  fellow  ?  " 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  waxing  impatient,  "I  can  tell  you  that  myself  as 
well,  and,  indeed,  much  better  than  he  can.  I  am  an  American, 
as  I  said  before.  I  came  down  here  to  fight  the  enemies  of  my 
country;  and  happening  by  accident  upon  this  gentleman  and  his 
company  "  ("  Gentleman  !  "  quoth  Tom  Gunner,  with  a  nod  of 
humorous  wonder,  "  what  the  h —  will  he  make  of  me  next,  I 
axes  !  ") — "  I  say,  sir,"  I  continued,  "  stumbling  upon  this  person 
and  his  company,  playing  Yankee  Doodle  on  a  drum  and  fife  " 
("  Picked  'em  up  in  ditch,  where  they  were  dropped  by  a  company 
of  milishy,  then  under  full  sail  on  the  lee  beam,  standing  no'th- 
east  half  east,"  murmured  Mr.  Gunner) — "  I  say,  sir,  I  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  deceived  in  their  character — to  take  them  for  a 
company  of  American  militia  men  " — ("  Take  me  for  a  milishy 
man  !  "  quoth  Tom  Gunner — "  my  eyes,  what  will  become  of 
me  !") — "  Upon  which,  sir,  I  volunteered  my  services.  Nor  did 
I  discover  the  error,  sir,  until  the  moment  of  going  into  bat- 
tle." 


KOBIN    DAT.  153 

"  Upon  my  soul,"  said  the  commander,  "  do  you  expect  me  to 
"believe  all  this  cock-and-a-bull  story  ?  An  American,  ha  !  Discov- 
ery of  error  before  going  into  battle,  ha !  Why,  did  I 
not  see  you,  with  my  own  eyes,  fight  the  Americans  with  the 
greatest  spirit  in  the  world  ?  " 

"  If  I  did,  sir,"  said  I,  "  it  was  because  I  was  frightened  out  of 
my  senses ;"  at  which  words,  uttered  with  the  earnestness  of  truth, 
the  lieutenant  burst  into  a  laugh,  then  swore  at  the  men  for  imita- 
ting, his  example,  and  ended  by  asking  me,  with  much  gravity, 
"  And  so,  sir,  because  you  made  a  mistake — mistaking  a  company 
of  his  Britanic  Majesty's  naval  forces  for  a  gang  of  ragamuffin 
American  militia  (and,  curse  me,  I  don't  think,  just  now,  the  mis- 
take very  unnatural) — you  expect  me  to  put  you  ashore?" 

"  Certainly,  sir,"  said  I  ;  "  you  can't,  as  a  gentleman,  refuse  to 
do  so." 

"  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  can't,  though,"  said  the  officer.  "  Having 
once  volunteered  to  take  arms  in  his  majesty's  service " 

"  But,"  said  I,  interrupting  him,  "  I  never  did  volunteer  to 
take  arms  for  his  majesty ;  it  was  in  the  service  of  my  own 
country.  And  sir,"  I  added,  with  suitable  spirit,  "  I  won't  con- 
sent to  be  considered  a  volunteer  any  longer." 

"  You  won't  ?  "  quoth  the  lieutenant.  "  Well,  then,  do  me  the 
favor  to  know  your  place — to  hold  your  tongue,  and  consider 
yourself  a  prisoner  of  war  ;  for  one  or  the  other  you  are — a 
volunteer,  sir,  or  a  prisoner  of  war." 

A  prisoner  of  war  !  It  needed  not  the  solemn  and  severe  look 
with  which  the  commander  pronounced  the  word  to  fill  me  with 
consternation.  I  had  often  heard  of  British  prison  ships  ;  my 
whole  life,  as  I  may  say,  had  been  passed  in  view  of  those  waters 
on  which,  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  these  floating  Bastiles 
had  acquired  their  terrible  notoriety ;  and  I  had  known  several 
old  soldiers  of  the  War  of  Independence,  who,  having  been  con- 
fined in  them,  had  many  a  dismal  tale  to  tell  of  the  miseries  of 
such  captivity.  As  a  prisoner  of  war  I  perceived  I  must  be 
immediately  thrnst  into  some  horrible  hulk,  to  roast  and  freeze,  to 
hunger  and  thirst,  to  pine  for  air,  to  languish  in  fetters,  to  be 
tyrannized  over  by  all  hands,  to  be  carried  over  the  seas  afar  from 
my  country  and  friends — in  short,  to  be  the  most  miserable  crea- 
ture in  the  world. 

To  escape  this  odious  fate  now  became  an  object  which  I  cast 


154  ADVENTURES    OF 

over  in  my  mind  with  desperate  energy  and  haste  ;  for  there  was 
no  time  to  be  lost.  Once  received  on  board  a  British  ship,  a  pris- 
oner of  war,  all,  I  f  orsaw,  must  be  over  with  me  ;  escape  would 
then  be  hopeless.  A  brilliant  prospect  struck  my  mind,  and  in- 
stantly dispelled  the  clouds  of  despair  which  had  been  gathering 
upon  it.  Received  as  a  volunteer,  I  should,  of  course,  escape 
fetters  and  tyrannical  usage,  and,  what  was  of  much  greater  con- 
sequence, I  should  be  sent  ashore  with  the  rest,  to  burn  villages 
and  attack  farm  yards,  or  (which  was  my  way  of  viewing  it)r 
while  my  comrades  were  thus  engaged,  to  give  them  the  slip,  and 
so  achieve  my  liberty.  The  idea  captivated  my  mind  in  a  mo- 
ment, and,  turning  to  the  lieutenant,  I  hastily  assured  him  I  had 
changed  my  mind,  and  begged  he  would  consider  me  a  volun- 
teer as  before,  as  I  was  determined  to  live  a  life  of  glory.  And 
upon  his  expressing  a  little  wonder  at  my  willingness  to  "  fight  the 
Americans,  my  own  countrymen,  "  I  gave  him  to  understand  it 
was  doubtful  whether  I  could  claim  them  as  such,  it  not  being  at 
all  certain  that  I  was  born  in  the  country.  Nay,  I  even  informed 
him  of  my  late  adventure  with  M'Goggin,  the  schoolmaster,  to 
convince  him  I  had  the  best  reasons  possible  to  avoid  return- 
ing to  the  Americans. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  the  gentleman  did  not  seem  to  consider  the 
killing  of  a  schoolmaster  any  very  heinous  offence  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  was  extremely  diverted  at  the  affair,  swore  I  was  a  lad  of 
mettle,  and  that  he  would  protect  me  against  the  universal  Yankee 
nation.  Finally,  he  declared  I  should  be  received  as  a  volunteer 
in  his  own  ship,  and,  by  and  by,  recommended  to  the  admiral  for 
a  commission,  provided  I  should  signalize  my  courage,  at  the  next 
excursion  on  shore  as  handsomely  as  he  declared  I  had  already 
done.  I  discovered  I  had  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  his 
mind,  and  I  must  say  he  made  as  satisfactory  an  one  upon  mine, 
being  a  good-humored,  pleasant  personage  who  seemed  to  take  an 
interest  in  my  affairs,  of  which  he  questioned  me  a  good  deal, 
besides  laughing  heartily  at  everything  I  said. 

Our  conversation  lasted  until  we  reached  the  fleet  of  small  ves- 
sels anchored  below;  in  one  of  which,  a  miserable,  old  and  dirty  look- 
ing shallop,  I  was  disappointed  to  find  the  "  ship  "  into  which  I  was 
to  be  received  a  volunteer,  under  the  immediate  command  of  my 
new  friend.  He  pointed  her  out  as  we  approached,  declaring,  by 
way  of  commendation,  she  was  "  the  best  oyster  boat  on  the  bay." 


BOBIX   DAY. 


155 


I  looked  up  to  her,  and  rubbed  my  eyes  to  dispel  a  dream  that 
seemed  suddenly  to  have  seized  upon  my  mind.      Nothing  could 
be  more  familiar  than  the  appearance  of  the  vessel,  which,  in  a 
moment,  conjured  up  remembrances  that  had  long  slumbered,  and, 
indeed,  been  for  a  time  entirely  lost.     Methought  I  saw  before  me 
the  notorious  Jumping  Jenny,  that  identical  vile  bark  in  which  I 
had  passed  so  many  years  of  childhood  and  suffering  ;  and  to  make 
the  illusion  more  perfect,   I  beheld,  sitting  upon  the  bowsprit,  as 
she  swung  by  her  anchor,  the  figure  of  a  boy,  as  ragged  and  un- 
.couth  as  boy  could  be,  engaged  in  that  very  occupation,  the  last  I 
had  been  condemned  to  in  the  Jumping  Jenny— that  is  to  say, 
plucking  a  goose,  and  dropping  its  feathers  idly  over  the  tide, 
saw,  methought,  not  merely  my  eidolon,  or  alter  ego,  but  myself, 
such  as  I  had  been   five  years  before  ;  and  so  strongly  did  the  feel- 
ing of  identification  possess   me  that  I,   for  an  instant,  fairly  took 
to  myself,  and  blushed  and  trembled  at  the  jeering  notices  which 
several  of  our  drunken  boat's  crew  took  of  the  hero  of  the  bow- 
sprit as  we  approached,  and  found  myseli  involuntarily  dodging 
in  anticipation  of  the  shower  of  pebbles  and  oyster  shells  which 
I  felt  was  necessary  to  give  the  last  finish  of  reality  to  the  scene. 
A  second  look,  however,  showed  me  that  my  representive  was  a 
much  bigger  and  older  boy  than  I  had  been  at  the  epoch  of  the 
-gander  pulling  ;  and  he  presently  showed  that,  with  all  his  squalid 
looks,  he  was  not  deficient  in  a  kind  of  savage  spirit,  such  sa  I, 
certainly,  had  never  possessed,  nor,  indeed,  any  spirit  at  all,  while 
under  the  dominion  of  Skipper  Duck.     To  the  gibes  of  the  sailors 
he  made  immediate  response   by  invoking  all  kinds  of  coarse  and 
puerile  maledictions  on  their  heads  ;  when,  having  thus   vented 
his  indignation,  he  fell  to  work  again  upon  the  goose,  leaving  us  to 
enter  the  vessel  without  further  scolding. 

We  jumped,  accordingly,  aboard,  where  the  appearance  of 
things  called  up  still  more  vividly  the  recollections  of  my  own 
unhappy  childhood.  I  could  have  sworn  I  again  trod  the  deck  of 
the  Jumping  Jenny.  And,  indeed,  I  had  not  been  half  a  minute 
-on  board  when  full  confirmation  of  the  suspicion  was  furnished 
by  the  sudden  appearance  of  no  less  a  man  than  the  veritable 
Skipper  Duck  himself,  my  horrible  tyrant,  whom  I  immediately 
recognized,  and,  I  believe,  by  mere  instinct,  for  five  years  had 
wrought  many  changes  in  his  visage  and  person.  What  fury  pos- 
sessed me  at  the  moment  I  hardly  know— perhaps  the  recollections, 


156  ADVENTURES    OF 

thus  renewed,  of  his  former  barbarities,  awakened  the  desire  for 
vengeance,  and  perhaps  the  desperation  of  my  present  circum- 
stances had  a  share  in  the  excitement — but  certain  it  is,no  sooner  had 
had  this  aniable  personage,  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  the  lieutenant^ 
"Here,  pilot,  skipper,  where  the  devil  are  you,"  made  his  appear- 
ance, than,  driven  by  an  irresistible  impulse,  I  flew  at  him,  and  with 
the  words,  "  Now,  you  scoundrel,  I'll  pay  you  up  for  old  times," 
and  some  half  a  dozen  cuffs,  applied  with  all  my  strength,  laid  him 
sprawling  on  the  deck. 

"  Hurrah  for  you,  Mister  !"  cried  my  representative,  rushing 
from  the  bowsprit  to  my  side,  goose  in  hand,  and  looking  half 
frantic  with  delight  ;  "that's  the  way  to  serve  him  ;  give  him  a 
little  more  !" 

"  I  will,"  said  I,  fortified  by  such  encouragement,  and  squared 
off  to  give  the  skipper,  amazed  and  confounded  at  such  an 
attack,  the  rising  blow,  when  my  commander,  as  much  aston- 
ished as  Duck,  but  still  vastly  diverted,  bade  me  (after  first 
kicking  the  lad  of  the  goose  out  of  the  way)  "  hold,"  and  asked 
"  what  I  meant  by  beating  the  king's  friends  after  volunteering  to 
fight  his  enemies?" 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  this  man  is  the  biggest  villain  in  America,  and 
treated  me  like  a  dog  when  I  was  a  little  boy." 

"I!"  said  Skipper  Duck,  wiping  the  blood  from  his  nose,  and 
admiring  its  ruddy  appearance  on  his  thumb  ;  "I  !"  ejaculated  the 
rast-al,  with  meek  and  submissive  astonishment,  "  I  never  seed  the 
young  gentleman  before  in  my  life." 

"  What,  you  thief  !"     said  I,  "  don't  you  recollect  Robin  Day  ?" 

"  Robin  Day  !"  cried  he,  giving  me  a  look  of  surprise,  then  of 
Burly  resentment  ;  "  very  well,  little  Cock  Robin,  I  won't  forget 
you  !"  With  which  words  he  sneaked  away  and  I  saw  no  more  of 
him. 

The  lieutenant  now  invited  me  into  the  cabin — that  dog  hole  in 
which  I  had  so  often  played  the  part  of  a  menial  and  slave — to 
inquire  a  little  more  into  my  history,  and  I  gave  him  a  full  ac- 
count of  all  Skipper  Duck's  behavior,  upon  which  he  commented 
by  laughing  very  heartily,  and  by  declaring  .that  Skipper  Duck 
deserved  all  I  had  given  him  and  something  more  into  the  bar- 
gain. "  As  for  his  cruelty,"  said  ho,  "  they  tell  me  he  used  to- 
treat  boy  Tom — that's  the  cook  boy  with  the  goose,  his  'prentice — 
just  as  savagely.  But  Tom's  a  devil,  and  deserves  a  rope's  end 


ROBIN   DAT.  157 

every  watch — and,  upon  my  soul,  I  believe  he  gets  it."  I  asked 
him  how  Skipper  Duck  came  to  be  in  the  British  service,  upon 
which  he  told  me  they  had  captured  his  vessel,  and  the  skipper, 
preferring  a  handsome  reward  and  the  hope  of  having  his  shallop, 
by  and  by,  restored  to  him,  to  remaining  a  prisoner  of  war  or 
being  set  ashore  a  penniless  beggar,  had  accepted  a  situation  as 
pilot,  being  weH  acquainted  with  all  the  Chesapeake  waters. 

"What  a  traitorous  villain  !"  thought  I  to  myself,  and  would 
have  said  it  had  it  not  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  any  such 
expression  of  virtuous  indignation  would  look  suspicious,  coming 
from  me  in  my  present  circumstances.  But  I  resolved  in  my  heart 
some  time  or  other  to  have  Skipper  Duck  hanged  for  high  treason. 

My  commander  having  asked  me  all  the  questions  he  thought 
proper,  first  as  to  my  own  affairs  and  then  in  relation  to  the  vil- 
lages on  some  of  the  neighboring  waters,  of  which,  however,  I 
soon  satisfied  him  I  knew  nothing,  now  gave  me  to  understand 
that  as  a  volunteer  taking  arms  in  his  majesty's  service  it  was 
expedient  I  should  be  taught  the  use  of  arms,  for  which  purpose, 
greatly  to  my  disappointment,  for  I  expected  he  would  have  invi- 
ted me  to  dinner,  which  boy  Tom  was  now  laying  on  the  table,  gave 
me  in  charge  of  a  man  in  a  red  coat — I  believe  a  marine — who  was 
exercising  the  sailors  on  the  deck,  and  teaching  them  a  more  scientific 
use  of  their  legs  and  muskets  than  they  naturally  possessed,  all, 
doubtless,  to  fit  them  more  advantageously  for  the  land  service,  on 
which  they  were  to  be  employed.  And  in  this  kind  of  exercise, 
stopping  only  for  a  time  to  eat  our  dinners  (I,  to  my  great  dudgeon, 
being  obliged  to  mess  with  the  men,  as  a  person  of  no  greater 
consideration  than  themselves),  we  continued  for  several  hours  dur- 
ing the  afternoon,  when,  a  boat  coming  on  board  with  a  message 
to  the  lieutenant,  we  were  ordered  to  go  below  and  turn  in — that 
is,  go  to  bed — and  snatch  a  little  sleep,  previous  to  embarking  on 
a  new  enterprise,  to  be  undertaken  some  time  during  the  night. 

I  felt  my  dignity  again  outraged  by  being  compelled  to  sleep  in 
the  common  hold  among  the  men,  and  thought  that  my  friend  the 
lieutenant  was  not  treating  me  in  the  most  gentlemanly  manner  in 
the  world;  but  the  prospect  of  going  on  shore,  and  so  effecting  my 
escape,  reconciled  me  to  the  wrong,  and  I  lay  down  on  the  hard 
planks  of  the  hold  (for  not  a  bit  of  a  bed  had  I)  with  great  resig- 
nation, and  straightway  fell  fast  asleep,  dreaming  of  prison  ships 
all  the  time. 


158  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

Robin  Day  distinguishes  himself  at  the  attack  on  Havre  de  Grace 
and  meets  with  a  misfortune. 

I  WAS  roused  from  my  sleep  at  last  by  my  new  acquaintance  and 
late  captain,  Tom  Gunner,  who  undoubtedly  held  some  petty  office 
on  board  the  ship,  but  what  it  was  I  never  knew;  and,  indeed,  I 
am  equally  unaware  what  was  the  true  rank  and  title  of  my  friend 
the  lieutenant,  though  I  suspect  he  was  nothing  more  than  a  mid- 
shipman. And  here  I  may  as  well  confess  a  greater  ignorance  of 
all  naval  and  nautical  matters  than  would  seem  becoming  in  one 
who  drew  his  first  breath  on  the  sea,  spent  his  childhood  in  an 
oyster  boat,  fought — or  served — six  weeks  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
British  Navy,  and  smelt  powder  in — but  I  must  not  anticipate  my 
story.  The  truth  is,  as  I  suspect,  my  early  experience  gave  me  a 
disgust  to  the  sea  and  its  affairs,  and,  although  I  have  since  tried 
to  dive  a  little  into  their  mysteries,  it  was  all  labor  lost,  and  1  find 
myself  still  as  ignorant  as  ever.  This  will  explain,  and,  I  hope, 
excuse,  the  errors  into  which  I  may  fall,  in  treating  of  these  pas- 
sages and  branches  of  my  existence. 

I  was  waked  by  Tom  Gunner,  who  told  me  to  "  get  up  and  be  d — d," 
and  intimated  we  were  going  to  attack  a  town  (it  was  the  town  of 
Havre  de  Grace,  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake),  and  that  I  was  to 
have  the  honor  of  fighting  in  a  barge  under  the  command  of  my  lieu- 
tenant. I  got  up,  accordingly,  and,  going  upon  deck,  which  was  al- 
ready swarming  with  men,  was  struck  with  the  novelty  of  the  spec- 
tacle that  awaited  me.  It  was  not  yet  day,  although  the  dawn  was 
not  far  off,  so  that  objects  were  but  dimly  discernible.  I  perceived, 
first,  that  we  were  under  sail,  but  making  way  very  slowly,  there 
being  scarcely  any  wind ;  and,  next,  that  we  had,  during  the  time  I 
was  asleep,  exchanged  a  river  of  half  a  mile  wide  for  one  of  at  least 
ten  times  the  magnitude,  with  bold  shores  looming  duskily  up  in 
the  distance,  and  finally  that  our  fleet  had  grown  to  thrice  the 
number  of  vessels,  some  of  which,  following  at  a  distance  behind, 
were  large  ships. 


ROBIN     DAY.  159 

As  we  proceeded  onwards,  the  day  began  to  break,  and  I  saw, 
some  miles  off,  the  indications  of  a  town  or  village  ;  which  having 
approached  within  a  mile  or  two,  the  fleet  came  to  anchor,  and 
orders  were  given  to  man  the  boats.  I  descended,  with  a  heart 
beating  betwixt  fear  and  hope,  into  the  barge  that  already  lay  be- 
side the  Jumping  Jenny,  and  which  now  received  the  same  crew 
of  heroes  with  whom  I  had  so  unluckily  distinguished  myself  the 
preceding  day. 

Our  commander  having  also  entered  the  boat,  we  lay  upon  our 
oars  for  a  few  moments,  waiting  the  signal  to  proceed.  It  was 
given  at  last  by  a  sudden  discharge  of  great  guns  from  the  ships 
of  war,  the  thunder  of  which,  with  the  patterings  of  the  iron 
balls  about  their  ears,  were,  I  believe,  the  first  intimation  the 
sleeping  villagers  had  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  The  horri- 
ble uproar  of  so  many  cannons  shot  off  nigh  at  hand,  and  the 
dreadful  sheets  of  flame  bursting  from  the  black  sides  of  the 
ships,  threw  me  into  a  great  panic,  which  was  not  much  dimin- 
ished when  our  commander  gave  the  word  to  proceed  against  the 
village.  "  Give  way,  my  hearties,"  he  cried;  "we 'shall  have 
something  better  to  pick  in  yon  dog  hole  than  ducks  and 
chickens  !" 

The  men  responded  with  loud  cheers,  which  were  now  heard 
proceeding  from  all  quarters  ;  for  a  great  many  barges  like  our 
own  were  on  the  water  ;  and  the  rowers  addressing  themselves  to 
their  oars,  we  were  soon  rapidly  approaching  the  devoted  town. 

But  as  we  drew  nigh  we  noticed  certain  appearances  which 
convinced  us  that  the  villagers,  however  astounded  at  the  salute 
we  had  given  them,  were  not  inclined  to  receive  their  visitors 
without  returning  the  compliments  of  the  morning.  And,  first, 
we  perceived  a  great  body  of  them  running  hastily  down  to  the 
beach  before  the  town,  where  stood  three  or  four  strange  looking 
objects,  which,  at  that  distance  and  in  the  uncertain  light  of  the 
morning,  I  could  not  make  out ;  nor,  I  presume,  should  I  have  had 
the  least  idea  of  their  character,  had  not  Tom  Gunner  suddenly 
ripped  out  an  oath,  and  declared  "  the  bloody  villains  "  (meaning 
the  townspeople),  "had  cannon,  and  were  going  to  give  us  a 
salvo." 

And,  true  enough,  the  words  were  scarce  out  of  his  mouth, 
when  bang  went  a  piece,  and  a  cannon  ball,  striking  the  river  hard 
by  our  boat,  which  was  one  of  the  headmost,  dashed  a  shower  of 


160  ADVENTURES     OF 

water  in  my  face,  by  which  I  was  greatly  frightened,  thinking  at 
first  it  was  my  life's  blood  all  let  loose.  This  salute,  as  it  did,  I 
believe,  no  damage  to  any  in  the  fleet  of  boats,  only  served  the 
purpose  of  inflaming  the  martial  ardor  of  all.  The  officers  d — d 
their  souls,  the  men  cheered,  and  rowed  onwards  with  redoubled 
vigor  ;  so  that,  in  a  few  moments,  we  reached  the  water's  edge 
and  sprang  ashore.  Previous  to  this,  however,  we  received 
several  other  discharges  ;  the  wonder  of  which  was  that  they 
were  all  fired  by  a  single  man,  who,  suddenly  deserted  by  his 
townsmen,  that  had  been  scared  off  by  the  noise  of  their  own 
gun,  stuck  valiantly  to  the  pieces,  fired  them  oft*  at  us,  one  after 
the  other,  and  was  even  seen,  without  any  assistance,  to  recharge 
and  refire  them,  until  our  sudden  jumping  ashore,  and  a  volley 
of  small  arms  let  fly  at  him,  compelled  him  to  beat  a  retreat. 

But  even  then,  his  flight  was  conducted  in  most  heroic  order, 
facing  his  enemies  all  the  while  with  a  musket,  which  he  fired; 
then  loaded,  as  he  retreated  and  fired  again.  "  Charge  upon  the 
rascal — run  him  down,"  quoth  the  lieutenant,  who,  having  had  the 
honor  first  to  reach  the  shore,  paused  a  moment  to  form  his  men, 
which  he  found  no  easy  task  in  the  face  of  so  determined  a  foe.  At 
that  moment,  I — still  in  mortal  affright,  yet  thinking  of  nothing 
but  escape — took  to  my  heels,  and  ran  up  the  street,  along  which 
the  intrepid  defender  of  the  town  was  backing  at  his  leisure,  hav- 
ing no  desire  so  great  as  to  reach  him  and  put  his  heroic  defence 
betwixt  me  and  thcinvaders.  As  I  had  had  a  musket  put  into  my 
hands,  which  I  still  carried,  holding  on  to  it  rather  from  instinct 
than  inclination,  and  unfortunately  forgot  in  my  hurry  to  inform 
him  of  my  peacable  intentions,  it  is  not  extraordinary,  when  I  ap- 
proached him,  which,  running  at  a  great  rate,  I  soon  did,  that  his 
reception  of  me  proved  anything  but  friendly.  In  fact,  I  had  no 
Sooner  come  within  reach  of  his  arms  than,  clubbing  his  musket, 
and  exclaiming,  with  a  strong  Irish  accent,  "  surrender,  ye  vil- 
lain," which  I  should  have  been  very  happy  to  do,  had  he  let  me, 
he  fetched  me  a  terrible  blow  over  the  head,  by  which  I  was  felled 
to  the  ground,  and  left  insensible. 

And  so  ended,  for  that  day,  my  hopes  of  flight,  as  well  as  my 
share  in  the  martial  events  that  followed,  of  which  I  have  no  fur- 
ther knowledge  (and  that  acquired  afterwards  from  others)  than 
that  the  town  was  taken,  plundered,  set  in  flames,  and  then,  in  due 
course  of  time,  abandoned  by  the  magnanimous  victors. 


ROBIN   DAY.  161 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Containing  an  account  of  Robin  Day's  successor  in  the  Jumping 
Jenny  ^  and  who  he  was. 

WIIEX  I  recovered  my  wits,  I  found  myself  again  in  the  Jump- 
ing Jenny,  lying  sick  and  sore  in  a  bunk,  surrounded  by  sailors, 
who  were,  however,  attending  to  their  own  affairs,  without  at  all 
concerning  themselves  with  me.  And  thus,  sick  and  sore,  among 
the  sailors  in  the  hold  of  the  Jumping  Jenny,  I  may  say  at  once, 
to  shorten  my  story,  I  remained  for  several  weeks,  having  received 
such  a  hurt  from  the  patriotic  Hibernian  as  required  all  the 
strength  of  a  naturally  sturdy  constitution  to  carry  me  through 
with  life.  And  this  was  doubtless  fortunate,  as  it  prevented  my 
taking  a  share,  as  otherwise  I  must  have  done,  in  those  other 
forays  against  the  villages  of  my  countrymen,  by  which  the 
British  warfare  in  the  Chesapeake  continued  to  be  distinguished. 

I  received  two  or  three  visits  from  a  surgeon  belonging  to  the 
fleet,  who  was  a  very  humane  personage,  and  who  told  me  my 
wounds  were  not,  as  I  apprehended,  of  any  very  great  account,  con- 
sidering my  youth  and  hardy  constitution  ;  and  once,  also,  I  was 
visited  by  my  friend  the  lieutenant,  who  asked  me  how  I  fared, 
swore  I  was  "  a  brave  dog,"  and  vowed  he  intended  to  recom- 
mend me  to  the  admiral  for  a  commission,  "  in  reward  of  my  gal- 
lant behavior  at  the  taking  of  the  Irishman  ; "  for,  it  seemed,  he 
had  mistaken  my  sudden  rush  from  his  crew  for  an  outpouring  of 
valor,  an  attack  actually  upon  the  bloody-minded  defender  of  the 
village.  It  was  none  of  my  business  to  undeceive  him  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  I  took  care  not  to  do  so.  After  this  I  saw  no  more  of 
him,  nor  do  I  believe  he  ever  more  troubled  his  head  about  me. 

In  the  midst  of  this  universal  neglect,  which  greatly  lowered 
my  opinion  of  my  own  importance,  as  well  as  of  the  dignity  and 
profit  cf  volunteering  in  his  majesty's  service,  I  perceived  many 
manifestations  of  good  will  in  a  quarter  from  which  I  never  should 
have  expected  it-^-namely,  from  Boy  Tom,  whom  I  have  already 


162  ADVENTUKES    OF 

called  my  representative,  as  filling  in  the  Jumping  Jenny  the  same 
unhappy  office  of  football  and  slave  of  all  work  once  filled  by  me. 
It  soon  appeared  that  I  had  won  his  affections,  or — as  he  was  too 
much  such  an  insensate  clod  as  I  had  once  been  to  have  any  affec- 
tions to  win — that  I  had  made  some  sort  of  agreeable  impression 
on  his  instincts  by  beating  his  tyrant,  the  detestable  Duck.  In- 
deed, I  remember,  the  first  time  he  made  his  appearance  at  my 
bedside,  or  the  first  time  my  returning  consciousness  allowed  me 
to  observe  him  and  hear  him  speak,  that  his  first  words  to  me, 
pronounced  with  an  accent  of  mingled  eagerness  and  encourage- 
ment, were.  "  I  say,  mister,  when  you  gits  well,  you'll  give  him 
a  little  more  of  it,  won't  you  ?" — words  which  he  repeated,  or 
something  to  the  same  effect,  at  every  visitation,  until  I  began  to 
understand  the  drift  of  them. 

He  was,  to  appearance,  a  boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years  old  ; 
but  allowing  for  the  effects  of  Skipper  Duck's  brutality,  which  I 
could  wrell  appreciate,  I  had  no  doubt  he  was  in  reality  three  or 
four  years  older.  His  figure  was  short  and  squat,  but  somewhat 
robust,  looking  all  the  bigger,  however,  for  being  bagged  up  in 
some  of  Skipper  Duck's  cast-off  garments.  His  visage  was  not  in 
itself  unhandsome,  having  quite  regular  and  rather  delicate  fea- 
tures; but  it  was  so  begrimed  with  dirt  and  smoke,  arid  set  in 
such  a  mop  of  hair,  that  seemed  never  to  have  known  scissors  or 
comb,  and  there  was  withal  an  expression  in  it  of  a  spirit  so  mulish 
and  savage  and  stupid,  that  no  one  would  have  thought  of  calling 
it  otherwise  than  ugly.  Such  a  spirit  was  indicated  also  by  his 
conversation,  which  was  full  of  oaths  and  ignorance,  and  by  his 
behavior,  which  to  all,  saving  perhaps  myself,  on  board  the  Jump- 
ing Jenny,  was  full  of  perverseness,  obstinacy,  and  enmity.  He 
seemed,  indeed,  a  son  of  Ishmael  among  them  ;  all  men's  hands — 
and  I  may  add,  feet — were  against  him  ;  he  was  a  butt  upon  whom 
all  seemed  to  take  a  malicious  pleasure  in  venting  sarcasms  and 
buffets,  which  he  requited  with  abuses,  and,  where  he  durst,  with 
blows.  All  swore  Boy  Tom  possessed  the  spirit  of  a  devil — "  a  dumb 
devil,"  as  Tom  Gunner  called  it — but  I  believe  they  had  beaten  it 
into  him. 

The  attentions  of  this  little  wretch,  who  played  the  part  of  a 
rude  nurse  while  I  lay  sick,  and  brought  me  daily  my  physic  and 
food,  together  with  the  striking  similarity  betwixt  his  condition  as 
it  was,  and  mine  as  it  had  been,  begot  in  me  a  species  of  interest, 


ROBIN    DAY. 


163 


which  increased  from  day  to  day,  and  was  still  further  augmented 
by  a  suspicion  that  came  over  me,  I  could  not  tell  how,  that  there 
was  more  than  a  resemblance — that  there  was  some  kind  of  connec- 
tion between  his  fate  and  mine.  I  employed  a  portion  of  the  leis- 
ure, of  which  I  had  more  than  enough  while  on  my  back,  in  specu- 
lating on  the  peculiarities  of  his  character,  and  the  causes  which 
had  molded  it  into  what  it  was. 

And  first,  it  appeared  to  me  that  Boy  Tom  had  not  always  been 
the  mulish,  ignorant  creature  he  now  was,  but  that — unlike  me,  in 
whom  brutal  treatment  had  prevented  the  natural  growth  of  the 
mind he  was  one  in  whom  mind,  after  a  certain  stage  of  develop- 
ment, had  been  driven  back,  or  thrust  out  by  hard  usage  ;  yet  not 
so  completely  but  that  some  relics  and  fragments  of  it  might  be 
seen  still  lingering  behind.  Thus,  with  all  his  stupidity,  there 
might  be  occasionally  detected  in  him  gleams  of  sense,  the  sparkles 
of  a  fire  that  had  not  been  wholly  extinguished  ;  and,  amid  all  the 
coarseness  and  profanity  of  his  conversation,  I  was  sometimes 
struck  with  expressions  that  I  fancied  could  have  been  caught  only 
among  educated  and  refined  people,  such  as  he  never  could  have 
met  on  board  the  Jumping  Jenny.  His  spirit  too— for,  certainly, 
he  was  a  spunky  little  dog,  as  his  continual  though  unavailing  re- 
sistance to  the  tyranny  of  all  on  board  proved— could  never,  ac- 
cording to  my  doctrine,  derived  from  my  own  experience,  have  exis- 
ted, had  he  been  accustomed  to  such  treatment  from  his  earliest 
days.  Besides,  it  was  quite  evident  he  could  not  have  been  in 
Skipper  Duck's  hands  longer  than  from  the  period  of  my  de- 
liverance. This  had  happened  between  five  and  six  years  ago  ; 
and  as  Boy  Tom  was  now  at  least  fifteen  years  old,  it  followed 
that  at  least  ten  years  of  his  existence  must  have  been  passed  in 
other,  and  doubtless  better,  hands  than  those  of  Skipper  Duck. 

The  more  I  speculated  upon  these  things  the  greater  became 
my  interest  in  the  boy,  whose  rude  but  kindly  attentions  grew 
more  frequent  day  by  day,  until  at  last  it  was  quite  evident 
he  took  pleasure  in  being  with  me,  giving  me  the  benefit  of 
all  the  time  he  had  to  spare,  as  well  as  a  great  deal  that  he 
had  not.  The  more  I  saw  of  him  the  stronger  grew  my  sus- 
picion as  to  that  connection  between  our  interests  of  which  I  have 
spoken  before  ;  and  several  times  I  was  seized  with,  I  cannot 
say  an  absolute  persuasion,  but  a  feeling  that  I  had  seen  him  be- 
fore, though  where  or  when  my  puzzled  memory  could  not 


164  ADVENTURES    OF 

say.  •  And  one  day  this  impression  became  so  strong  that  I 
could  not  resist  questioning  him  on  the  subject,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  satisfying  my  curiosity  ;  and  truly,  the  result  was  sur- 
prising enough.  I  asked  him,  "  what  was  his  name  ?" 

"  Tom,"  said  he  ;  "  Boy  Tom." 

"  But  your  other  name  ?"  demanded  I  ;  "  your  father's  name  ?" 

Tom  scratched  his  h»jad  with  a  stupid  stare.  "  The  Cappin's  a 
father  over  me,"  said  he  ;  "Cappin  Duck,  dang  his  buttons  !" 

"  But  your  own  father,''  quoth  I  ;  "  you  certainly  had  a  father  ; 
what  was  his  name  ?" 

"Never  had  no  father,"  said  Tom  resolutely;  "had  only  a  papa." 

There  was  something  in  the  use  of  the  word  "  papa"  (not  to 
speak  of  the  confusion  of  ideas),  that  struck  me  ;  but  judge  my 
more  than  astonishment,  when,  asking  u  what  was  that  papa's 
name,"  the  boy  answered  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  "  Dr. 
Howard." 

I  started  up  from  my  bunk,  sick  and  feeble  as  I  was,  and  looked 
almost  with  terror  upon  the  lad  ;  who,  as  if  quite  unconscious  of 
having  said  anything  at  all  surprising,  continued  to  inform  me 
that  his  papa  "  lived  all  the  way  off  in  Jersey,"  as  if  that  were  at 
the  other  end  of  the  earth.  His  father  my  patron,  Dr.  Howard  ? 
himself  my  little  schoolmate  Tommy,  who  had  been  drowned,  as 
all  the  world  knew,  or  supposed,  five  years  before  \  The  idea  was 
too  amazing  for  belief  ;  but  it  had  conjured  up  a  thousand  sleep- 
ing memories,  and  as  I  looked  into  the  little  wretch's  face  I  could 
now  perceive  points  of  resemblance  not  before  noticed,  which  stag- 
gered me  from  my  incredulity.  "  You  Tommy  Howard  !"  I  ex- 
claimed, with  a  faltering  voice  ;  to  which  the  poor  oaf,  taking  the 
ejaculation  for  an  inquiry,  answered  bluffly,  "  No,  Boy  Tom,  I 
tells  you  ;  papa's  name  was  Dr.  Howard,  but  mine's  Boy  Tom." 

"  If  Dr.  Howard  is  your  papa,  you  then  must  be  Tommy  How- 
ard," I  said.  "Yet  it  cannot  be.  Tommy  was  drowned;  every 
body  said  so  ;  they  found  his  clothes  on  the  shore." 

Then  looking  again  upon  the  urchin,  who,  not  comprehending 
my  remarks,  or  the  drift  of  them,  began  to  stir  about  as  if  he  had 
already  discharged  the  subject  of  conversation  from  his  thoughts, 
I  cried,  as  a  new  thought  struck  me,  "  If  you  are  Tommy  How- 
ard you  must  know  me  /  I  am  your  old  friend  Robin  Day  !" 

Boy  Tom  stared  at  me  with  a  face  of  great  simplicity  ;  "  Never 
know'd  no  sich  feller,"  said  he. 


ROBIN    DAY.  165 

"  "What  !  not  Robin  Pay,  that  fished  you  out  of  the  river  when 
you  hit  him  with  an  oyster  shell  ?  Robin  Day,  that  you  taught  his 
letters  to ;  that  used  to  play  with  you  in  the  garden  all  day  long  ?" 

"  'Twar'n't  no  sich  feller  as  Robin  Day,"  said  Tom,  very  reso- 
lutely ;  "  'twas  little  Sy  Tough.  Ay,  dang  my  buttons  !"  he  con- 
tinued as  the  gleam  of  recollection  shot  over  his  murky  mind,  "  Sy 
was  sich  a  feller  for  eatin'  and  drinkin'  !  Know'd  Sy  Tough  well 
enough,  but  never  know'd  no  Robin  Day." 

The  reader  will  remember  that  Sy  Tough  was  my  nickname  at 
school,  and  he  may  judge  how  much  of  satisfaction,  mingled  with 
pain,  I  felt  at  hearing  it  thus  pronounced  by  the  poor  boy  ; — satis- 
faction, because,  to  my  mind,  it  afforded  the  clearest  proof  of  the 
identity  of  Boy  Tom  and  the  lost  Tommy  Howard  ;  and  pain,  be- 
cause it  was  only  with  grief  I  could  look  upon  my  old  playmate 
and  friend,  the  child  of  my  benefactor,  thus  degraded  in  intellect 
and  manners,  a  wreck  of  what  be  had  been,  a  nonentity  compared 
with  what  he  might,  and  ought  to  have  been. 

But  he  was  my  patron's  son,  Tommy  Howard,  there  was  no 
doubt  of  that.  I  could  see  it  in  his  visage,  I  could  hear  it  in  his 
voice,  I  could  trace  it  in  his  broken  and  confused  recollections. 
Five  years  of  slavery  in  the  hands  of  such  a  man  as  Skipper  Duck, 
were  enough  to  make  even  the  bright  little  Tommy  what  he  was — 
to  rob  him  of  every  faculty  of  mind,  and  every  acquisition  of 
manners,  feeling  and  knowledge  ;  the  only  wonder  was  that  he 
should  have  retained  any  thing,  that  he  should  have  recollected 
any  thing,  that  he  should  not  have  been  wholly  brutalized. 

But  little  Tommy  Howard  had  been  drowned  ;  had  not  the 
whole  village  said  so  ?  had  not  every  one  settled  even  the  particulars 
of  his  death  ?  I  conned  the  circumstances  over  in  my  mind.  It  was 
true,  every  one  believed  little  Tommy  had  been  drowned  ;  but 
that  did  not  prove  he  had  been.  All  that  was  actually  known  of 
the  catastrophe  was,  that  Tommy,  with  some  twenty  or  thirty  other 
urchins  had  gone  one  evening  into  the  river  to  swim,  amusing 
themselves  as  usual  among  the  shipping — or,  to  be  more  correct, 
the  shalloping — moored  about  the  wharves,  and  anchored  in  the 
river  ;  that  he  was  missed  when  his  companions  left  the  water  to 
dress,  and  only  then,  when  some  one  remarked  an  unclaimed  bun- 
dle of  clothes  which  were  found  to  be  his  ;  that  he  was  supposed 
to  have  been  drowned  because  that  was  the  easiest  and  most  natu- 
ral way  of  accounting  for  his  disappearance.  The  river  had  been 


166  ADVENTURES    OF 

dragged  for  his  body,  though  without  success.  That  made  noth- 
ing, at  the  time,  against  the  belief  in  his  unhappy  end  ;  but  it  was 
now  every  thing  in  favor  of  my  own  conclusions.  Had  his  body 
been  indeed  found,  the  circumstances  of  Boy  Tom  calling  him- 
self the  son  of  Dr.  Howard,  and  remembering  the  name  of  Sy 
Tough,  would  have  been  merely  wonderful ;  as  it  had  not  been 
found,  it  was,  with  these,  another  proof  of  his  existence,  and  of 
his  being  one  and  the  same  person  with  Boy  Tom. 

It  remained  now  to  account  for  his  sudden  disappearance,  and 
his  falling  into  the  hands  of  Skipper  Duck  ;  and  here,  although  I 
received  no  assistance  whatever  from  him,  his  memory  being  on 
this  point  as  on  most  others,  quite  extinguished,  I  was  at  no  great 
loss  to  frame  a  plausible  solution  of  the  difficulty.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  Skipper  Duck  had  expiated  his  wrongs  to  me  by  a 
severe  punishment — by  fine  and  imprisonment — not  to  speak  of  the 
keel-hauling  and  banishment  from  our  town  forever,  which  visita- 
tions of  justice  were  directly  to  be  traced  to  my  patron,  Dr.  How- 
ard, to  bring  him  to  justice  ;  and  nothing  could  be  more  natural 
than  that  he  should  seize  any  opportunity  that  fell  in  his  power  of 
revenging  himself  upon  the  doctor,  the  cause  of  his  misfortunes. 
I,  who  knew  the  Skipper-  so  well,  felt  that  the  cutting  of  the  doc- 
tor's throat  itself  would  not  have  been  an  enormity  too  great  for 
him,  had  it  not  been  for  the  cowardice  of  his  nature,  the  only 
quality  that  kept  him  from  the  commission  of  the  greatest  crimes. 
Upon  revolving  the  matter  in  my  mind,  viewing  it  in  every  way,  I 
became  convinced  that,  at  the  time  of  the  catastrophe,  Skipper 
Duck  must  have  been  with  his  vessel  in  the  river, — and,  doubtless, 
in  disguise,  as  was  necessary  to  his  safety — that  little  Tommy  had, 
by  some  means  fallen  into  his  hands,  perhaps  by  swimming  to  and 
clambering  into  his  vessel,  which  kind  of  visitations  it  was  a  com- 
mon thing  for  the  boys  to  make  to  the  vessels  anchored  in  the 
river  ;  that  the  Skipper  had  recognized  him  as  the  son  of  his  enemy 
and  persecutor  (as  he  most  probably  considered  the  doctor),  and, 
upon  an  impulse  of  revenge,  immediately  concealed  and  carried 
him  away,  to  wreak  upon  his  innocent  body  the  revenge  he  owed 
the  parent.  And  such  an  act  was  not  the  less  probable,  that  it 
gained  him  a  slave  to  fill  the  office  from  which  I  had  been  removed. 
Then,  by  changing  the  scene  of  his  operations  from  the  New  Jer- 
sey to  the  Chesepeake  waters,  it  was  as  easy  to  retain  possession 
of  his  prize  as  to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  crime. 


EOBIN    DAY.  167 

Such  was  the  way  in  which  I  explained  the  marvel  of  poor  Tom- 
my's existence  and  debasement,  and  such  was,  as  it  afterwards 
appeared,  the  true  explanation. 

It  may  be  supposed,  with  such  a  belief  upon  my  mind,  that  I  did 
not  cease  my  efforts  to  awake  the  memory  of  the  boy  to  the  other 
facts  and  circumstances  of  his  former  life,  to  heap  together  still 
further  (though  I  required  no  more  convincing)  proofs  of  his  iden- 
tity. But  here  my  ingenuity  and  perseverance  were  alike  unre- 
warded; he  knew  nothing,  he  remembered  nothing,  save  that  his 
"  papa's  "  name  was  Dr.  Howard,  who  lived  "  all  the  way  off  in 
Jersey,"  and  that  he  once  had  a  playmate,  Sy  Tough,  whose  head 
he  had  laid  open  with  an  oyster  shell,  who  had  fished  him,  in  re- 
turn, from  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and  who  was  "  sich  a  feller  f or 
eatin'  and  drinkin'!" — as,  no  doubt,  I  was  when  first  translated 
from  the  house  of  famine  to  the  fleshpots  of  my  patron's  kitchen, 
and  the  apples  and  oranges  of  little  Tommy's  storehouse  in  the 
garret.  His  sister,  his  playmates,  old  Pedro  the  cook — every 
thing  else  was  forgotten — even  the  skill  he  had  imparted  to  me 
in  reading  was  gone;  I  found  in  making  the  experiment  he  scarce 
knew  one  letter  from  another.  In  short,  he  was  such  a  ruin,  such 
a  wreck  of  what  he  had  been,  so  stupid  of  mind  and  callous  of  feel- 
ing, that  it  pained  me  to  the  heart  to  look  at  him,  and,  especially, 
to  pursue  the  investigations,  which  only  the  more  glaringly  re- 
vealed his  deficiencies.  But  I  had  one  cheering  hope:  once  again 
in  the  hands  of  his  father,  I  doubted  not  of  his  speedy  regeneration; 
the  hand  that  had  rescued  an  alien  from  barbarism  would  be  still 
more  powerful  to  rescue  the  benighted  son. 

This  discovery,  by  which  I  was  greatly  excited,  did  what  physic 
and  my  own  desires  had  hitherto  failed  to  do;  it  put  me  immediate- 
ly upon  my  legs,  and  I  crawled  upon  the  deck  to  look  up  my  friend 
the  lieutenant,  and  the  villanous  Duck,  for  the  purpose  of  repre- 
senting to  the  former  the  singular  case  of  little  Tommy,  and  charg- 
ing the  latter  with  kidnapping  him;  besides,  I  hoped  to  procure  the 
lad's  liberty,  and  have  him  sent  back  to  his  parent.  But  neither 
the  lieutenant  nor  the  skipper  were  to  be  found;  the  commander 
had  gone  off,  with  a  single  boat's  crew,  taking  Duck  along  with 
him,  upon  an  expedition  which  proved  very  unfortunate,  the  lieu 
tenant  losing  his  life,  and  all  his  crew,  including  the  skipper,  being 
either  destroyed  or  taken  prisoners.  This  we  learned  in  the  eve- 
ning when  another  officer,  an  old  midshipman,  came  on  board  the 


168  ADVENTURES    OF 

Jumping  Jenny  and  read  his  orders  to  assume  the  command  of  the 
vessel. 

To  this  officer,  though  somewhat  daunted  by  his  looks,  which 
were  glum  and  ferocious,  I  did  not  long  defer  carrying  my  story, 
though  I  must  say  its  reception,  as  well  as  my  own,  was  not  very 
encouraging  or  flattering.  I  had  not  well  opened  my  mouth  when 
he  unlocked  his  own  to  pour  a  volley  of  abuse,  his  wrath  being 
caused,  it  seemed,  by  my  audacity  in  speaking  to  him  without 
having  been  first  invited  to  do  so;  and  he  ended  the  explosion  by 
demanding  "who  the  h — 1  I  was?"  to  which  I  replied,  I  was"  a 
volunteer  in  his  Majesty's  service." 

"  Volunteer  be  d — d,"  quoth  he,  sending  for  the  ship's  list,  which 
he  looked  over  for.  my  name,  though,  I  believe,  without  finding  it 7 
upon  which  he  fell  into  a  groat  passion,  and  swore  I  was  a  prisoner 
of  war  and  nothing  better,  until  Mr.  Gunner  came  to  my  assistance, 
and  bore  witness  I  had  volunteered  my  services  to  him,  that  they 
had  been  accepted  by  the  late  lieutenant,  and,  finally,  that  as  a 
volunteer  I  had  won  my  wounds  fighting  bravely  on  shore  at  the 
storming  of  Havre  de  Grace. 

The  commander  then,  with  another  oath,asked  me  what  I  wanted, 
upon  which  I  told  him  poor  Tommy's  story,  or,  rather,  as  much  as 
he  would  hear,  which  was  little  enough;  he  d — d  Tommy's  eyes,  as 
well  as  mine,  and  upon  my  preferring  an  humble  request  that  he 
would  give  the  former  his  freedom,  to  return  to  his  bereaved  parent, 
he  asked  me  whether  I  was  "  a  volunteer  horse,  or  volunteer  jack- 
ass ?"  told  me  to  mind  my  own  business,  and  then  uncivilly  dis- 
missed me  from  his  presence — that  is,  he  picked  up  a  handspike, 
and  threw  it  at  my  head,  as  I  was  hastily,  to  avoid  his  wrath,  de- 
scending to  my  quarters. 


ROBIN   DAY.  169 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

jRobirfs  plans  of  escape  are  interrupted,  and  he  marches  with  the 
British  to  the  attack  on  Craney  Island. 

HAVING  thus  lost  all  hope  of  effecting  the  liberation  of  my  poor 
playmate  through  the  humanity  of  the  lieutenant's  successor,  I 
now  cast  about  for  other  means  of  insuring  my  ends  ;  and  none 
better  offering,  I  laid  a  plan  for  escaping  with  him  in  a  boat  to 
the  shore,  which  I  thought  might  be  done  under  cover  of  the 
night,  as  the  watch  was  not  always  kept  with  great  strictness.  And, 
once  upon  terra  firma,  I  thought  there  would  be  no  great  difficulty 
in  finding  the  means  of  sending  Tommy  to  his  friends,  notwithstand- 
ing that  my  unlucky  circumstances  rendered  it  inexpedient  for  me 
to  attempt  turning  my  face  toward  the  same  quarter. 

I  digested  and  perfected  the  scheme  at  my  leisure,  taking  care 
to  admit  none  to  my  counsels,  not  even  Tommy  himself ;  who,  I 
doubted  not,  would  be  willing  to  fly  with  me  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  Jumping  Jenny  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  upon  whose  pru- 
dence and  co-operation  I  saw  it  was  necessary  to  rely  as  little  as 
possible.  At  the  same  time,  having  procured  a  sheet  of  paper 
from  a  literary  marine  who  kept  a  journal  of  his  exploits,  I  drew 
up  a  long  letter  to  my  patron,  which  I  designed  to  send  by  Tom- 
my, in  which  I  described,  first,  the  happy  discovery  I  had  made, 
with  all  matters  thereto  relating  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  my  own 
unlucky  adventures  from  the  time  of  leaving  his  house  up  to  the 
present  moment.  I  was  particular  in  explaining  the  incident  of 
the  robber,  that  he  might  see  I  was  innocent  of  the  charge  laid  at 
my  doors  by  the  audacious  highwayman,  as  well  as  of  the  loss  of 
the  horse  which  that  impudent  fellow  had  ridden  off  with  ;  and  I 
gave  him  the  true  account  of  my  adventures  with  the  false  and 
the  true  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  begging  that  he  would  clear  up  my 
character,  which  had,  no  doubt,  suffered  in  the  estimation  of  that 
worthy  gentleman.  I  informed  him  of  my  fortunate  escape  (for 
so  I  considered  it)  from  Mr.  John  Dabs,  the  constable,  as  well  as 


170  ADVENTURES    OP 

of  my  unhappy  encounter  with  the  British,  begging  him  to  ob- 
serve that  I  had  volunteered  to  take  arms  with  them  only  for  the 
purpose  of  avoiding  the  horrors  of  a  prison-ship,  and  of  effecting 
my  escape  to  my  own  countrymen  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  I 
concluded  the  missive  by  detailing  my  plan  of  escape  and  assur- 
ing him  that,  as  I  intended  to  make  Tommy  the  bearer  of  my 
epistle,  he  might  infer,  upon  the  receipt  of  it,  that  I  had  effected 
my  purpose  and  was  at  liberty.  I  ended  by  a  postscript,  in  which 
I  sent  my  love  to  Nanna,  with  a  hint  that  as  soon  as  I  should  escape 
the  British  and  light  upon  my  friend  Dicky  Dare,  she  would,  perhaps, 
hear  fu.ther  of  me  in  the  papers,  fighting  the  battles  of  my  country. 
My  letter,  when  finished,  I  concealed  about  my  person,  to  have  in 
readiness  for  the  moment  of  escape,  which  I  now  resolved  should 
soon  take  place — and  that  before  being  called  upon  again  to  bear 
arms  in  the  service  of  his  Britannic  Majesty. 

My  resolution,  as  far  as  it  had  reference  to  fighting  again  in  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy,  it  would  have  been  as  well  had  I  omitted, 
since  it  required,  to  make  it  good,  the  consent  of  other  persons, 
whose  consent  might  not  have  been  so  easily  obtained.  At  all 
events,  after  having  quite  settled  the  matter  in  my  own  mind  to 
my  own  satisfaction,  I  was  given  to  understand,  one  fine  morning, 
after  being  first  informed  I  was  discharged  from  the  sick  list, 
that  I  was  that  day,  for  the  third  time,  to  have  the  honor  of  fight- 
ing his  majesty's  enemies,  and  ordered  to  prepare  myself  for 
action  accordingly.  This  information  was  conveyed  by  my  friend 
Tom  Gunner,  who,  noting  my  surprise,  or  perhaps  a  stronger 
feeling,  for  I  was,  in  his  phrase,  rather  taken  aback  by  it,  told 
me,  "  there  was  no  use  in  being  scared,  as  the  d — d  bullets  never 
got  out  of  one's  way  for  being  afraid  of  them,"  and  added, 
"  after  all,  d —  his  heart,  he  believed  we  were  going,  for  once,  to 
knock  our  heads  against  a  stone  wall,  and  that  some  of  us  would 
see  Davy  Jones  before  the  day  was  over."  And  in  reply  to  my 
question,  upon  what  expedition  we  were  bound,  he  told  me  we 
were  to  attack  the  city  of  Norfolk,  somewhere  near  to  which  the 
whole  fleet  lay  at  anchor  ;  that  if  we  succeeded,  we  should  have 
"  hellish  fine  times  among  the  women,  and  grand  picking  among 
the  crockery  ware  and  niggers  ;  though,  to  his  mind,  we  were 
more  like  to  come  off  with  a  salt  eel  than  anything  better."  And 
upon  my  asking  what  made  the  enterprise  more  dangerous  than 
usual,  he  replied,  there  was  "  a  cursed  island,  with  a  cursed  fort 


EOBIN    DAY.  171 

upon  it,  to  take,  before  we  could  approach  the  city— that  the 
<;ursed  island,  besides  its  cursed  fort,  was  also  defended  by  a 
•cursed  Yankee  frigate  and  twenty  cursed  Yankee  gunboats,"  all 
which  cursed  things,  island  and  fortress,  frigate  and  gunboats, 
were  "manned  with  fellows  that  knew  the  difference  between 
grog  and  gunpowder — with  sailors,  d —  his  blood,  that  had  seen 
service,  and  none  of  your  blasted  milishy,  that  one  could  lick  by 
merely  looking  hard  at  them." 

However  grieved  I  may  have  felt  at  this  unexpected  order,  I 
had  gained  too  much  experience  to  think  of  disputing  it  ;  and, 
accordingly,  I  made  my  preparations,  and,  in  a  very  brief  time, 
found  myself  in  a  barge,  strongly  manned  and  officered  by  the 
new  commander,  which,  with  a  great  number  of  others,  now  set 
off  for  the  southern  shore  of  James  River,  near  the  mouth  of 
which — that  is  to  say,  in  Hampton  Roads — the  British  fleet  lay 
anchored. 

The  reader,  who  is  better  conversant  with  geographical  science 
than  I  happened  to  be  in  those  days,  knows  that  the  position  of 
Norfolk  is  upon  a  smaller  river  that  empties  into  the  James  River, 
from  which  the  town  is  seven  or  eight  miles  removed.  Upon  this 
smaller  river,  three  miles  above  the  James  River,  lies  Craney 
Island — "  the  cursed  island  "  of  Tom  Gunner — separated  from  the 
western  bank  by  a  narrow  channel,  which  is,  I  believe,  fordable  ; 
at  least  it  was  so  reported  among  my  friends  the  British,  who 
thereupon  founded  their  plan  of  attack.  It  was  designed  that  a 
part  of  the  invading  force  should  advance  upon  the  island  in  the 
boats,  while  the  remainder,  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
should  march  up  behind  the  island,  while  its  defenders  were  en- 
gaged with  the  boats,  wade  the  narrow  channel,  and  carry  the 
works  on  the  island  by  storm. 

The  crew  of  the  Jumping  Jenny,  it  appeared,  were  to  take  part 
wilh  the  latter  division,  composed  of  land  troops,  (brought  over 
by  Admiral  Warren),  marines,  and  sailors — a  destination  which,  I 
believe,  gave  great  pleasure  to  every  soul  in  the  division  ;  for, 
as  it  was  pretty  generally  understood  that  the  fort  on  the  island 
was  a  fort  in  earnest,  with  abundance  of  artillery  and  men,  not  to 
speak  of  the  frigate  and  twenty  gunboats,  lying  so  convenient  for 
its  assistance,  so  it  was  as  commonly  believed  that  the  attack 
upon  it  in  front  with  barges  would  prove  anything  but  safe  or 
agreeable  to  those  assigned  to  the  duty.  As  for  myself,  I  was 


172  ADVENTURES    OF 

doubly  pleased — pleased  to  escape  the  dangers  of  the  boat  ser- 
vice, and  pleased  to  put  my  foot  again  upon  dry  land,  where  (so- 
hot  was  now  my  desire  to  escape),  I  determined,  if  possible,  to 
desert  the  King's  service,  leaving  little  Tommy  Howard,  not,  in- 
deed, to  shift  for  himself,  but  to  be  liberated  in  a  way  and  by 
means  to  be  afterwards  devised. 

Our  division  landed  without  difficulty  or  molestation,  and  im- 
mediately took  up  the  line  of  march  towards  the  object  of  at- 
tack, marching  through  scrubby  woods  and  thickets,  so  as  to  strike 
the  river  in  the  rear  of  the  island — or,  as  Tom  Gunner  called  it,  "to 
take  it  astarn  ;  "  and  this  part  of  our  design  we  effected  without 
any  accident — that  is,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  river  and  its 
island,  the  theatre  on  which  we  were  all  shortly  to  play  parts  so 
important  and  heroical.  We  came  in  sight  of  it  at  a  moment  of 
great  excitement  and  interest ;  for,  just  then,  the  barges  were  seen 
close  to  the  island,  upon  which  they  were  rushing  with  furious 
spirit  and  speed,  while  a  host  of  blue-jackets — sailors  from  the 
American  squadron  drawn  up  in  the  river  above — stood  behind  a 
breastwork  on  the  shore,  with  artillery,  to  dispute  their  landing. 
We  could  see  the  gunners  whirling  their  matches  in  the  air,  as  if 
upon  the  very  point  of  firing;  the  expectation  of  which,  with  the 
interest  of  the  scene,  brought  our  land  army  to  an  involuntary 
halt,  to  behold  the  beginning  of  the  battle.  It  is  true,  our  com- 
manders d — d  our  eyes,  and  ordered  us,  some  to  "  march,"  and 
some  to  "  give  way,"  according  as  they  belonged  to  the  bull-dog 
or  sea-dog  families  ;  but  even  they  could  not  resist  the  feeling  of 
the  moment,  which  chained  all  feet  to  the  ground,  while  all  eyes 
were  directed  to  the  scene  of  strife  about  to  open.  "  My  eyes  !  " 
said  Tom  Gunner,  opening  them  upon  his  friends  in  the  barges, 
"they  gits  it !  "  which  was  a  very  prophetic  speech  of  Tom  Gun- 
ner's. 

At  this  moment,  the  forces  in  the  boats,  who,  I  fancy,  had  just 
caught  sight  of  us,  their  coadjutors,  so  opportunely  arriving,  set 
up  a  lusty  cheer,  and  dashed  with  renewed  spirit  against  the  is- 
land ;  and  a  few  more  strokes  of  the  oars  would  have  carried  them 
to  the  strand,  which,  however,  but  few  of  them  were  destined  to 
reach.  The  blue-jackets  returned  the  cheer  with  another  not  so 
loud,  but  quite  as  bold  and  confident ;  and  immediately  we  beheld 
some  ten  or  a  dozen  matchsticks  descend  upon  the  vents  of  as  many 
cannon,  followed  by  a  din  of  explosion  that  shook  the  earth  under 


KORIN    DAY,  173 

our  feet.  The  effect  of  this  discharge  was,  to  my  fancies  at  least, 
prodigious.  The  river  was  tossed  into  foam,  its  whole  surface 
around  and  among  the  boats  converted  into  froth  by  the  showers 
of  ball  and  grape-shot  poured  from  the  cannon  ;  while  the  frag- 
ments of  at  least  one  barge  shattered  by  a  ball,  were  seen  knocked 
into  the  air,  with,  perhaps,  the  mangled  limbs  of  several  of  her 
crew,  whose  bodies  were,  an  instant  after,  seen  scattered  over  the 
tide.  The  assailants,  undeterred  by  the  discharge,  gave  breath  to 
another  hurrah,  which  was,  however,  cut  short  by  another  broad- 
side, that  rapidly  succeeded  the  former,  and,  I  believe,  wrought 
horrible  havoc  among  them  ;  but  of  this  we  could  now  know  noth- 
ing, as  the  smoke  of  the  artillery  drove  over  the  water  as  well  as 
around  the  battery,  and  concealed  friend  and  foe  alike  from  our 
view.  But  from  that  nitrous  cloud  long  came  to  our  ears  the 
sounds  of  battle — the  roar  of  the  American  cannon,  as  well  as 
those  in  the  boats  (for  they  had  ordnance  on  board,  and  now  put 
them  to  use),  the  rattle  of  musketry,  and  the  shouts  of  the  com- 
batants. 

There  was  another  reason  why  we  should  no  longer  take  much 
note  of  the  proceedings  of  our  comrades,  which  was  a  sudden  oc- 
casion we  found  for  giving  all  our  attention  to  our  own  interests. 
The  second  volley  of  the  blue-jackets  awoke  the  wrath  of  our 
leaders,  who  gave  the  order  again  to  march,  and  carry  the  island 
at  a  blow.  We  had  scarcely  turned  our  faces  to  obey,  when  we 
were  petrified  at  the  sight  of  a  multitude  of  men  spread  through 
the  woods,  some  of  them  very  tatterdemalion-looking  personages, 
but  all  armed  and  formed  somewhat  in  military  order,  who  had 
marched  upon  us  unaware,  and  were  still  advancing  full  in  our 
front.  And  to  make  this  apparition  the  more  disagreeable,  we 
immediately  heard  a  strong  voice  among  them,  doubtless  that  of 
their  leader,  cry  aloud — "  Now,  boys,  there  they  are,  the  villains! 
let  them  have  it !  "  And,  indeed,  they  did  let  us  have  it  immedi- 
ately— that  is  to  say,  a  volley  of  small  arms,  chiefly  rifles,  I  be- 
lieve, by  which  at  least  a  dozen  of  our  men  were  shot  dawn,  one 
of  them,  a  sailor  at  my  side,  who  rolled  his  eyes,  and — having 
Tom  Gunner's  late  observation  on  his  memory — gasped  out,  "  Now 
we  gits  it,  too,  d — n  my  blood  !  "  and  immediately  expired. 

"  Cut  the  villains  to  pieces  ;  they  are  only  militia — charge  them 
out  of  the  wood  !"  cried  our  own  commandcr-in-chief  ;  and  my 
fellow  soldiers,  whose  blood  was  now  up,  obeying  the  order,  rushed 


174  ADVENTURES    OF 

upon  the  offending  freemen  with  a  fury  not  to  be  withstood,  and  they 
immediately  retreated,  though  in  very  good  order,  rather  backing 
away  than  flying,  and  keeping  up  an  incessant  firing  all  the  time. 
We  drove  them  thus  through  the  woods  a  few  hundred  paces,  when, 
all  of  a  sudden,  a  volley  was  fired  at  us  from  the  bushes  on  the  river 
bank,  which  was  on  our  left,  and,  turning  to  charge  upon  this  new 
foe,  we  received  a  third  fire  upon  our  backs  from  a  detachment, 
which,  it  appeared,  had  out-flanked  us  on  the  right.  At  tii3  same 
time  our  adversaries  in  front  came  to  a  stand,  and,  having  given 
us  one  more  salute  with  their  rifles,  suddenly  unmasked  a  battery 
of  field-pieces,  by  the  first  discharge  of  which  a  score  of  my  com- 
rades were  made  to  bite  the  dust,  and  the  whole  force  thrown  into 
confusion. 

Of  the  remaining  occurrences  of  the  battle  I  do  not  profess  to 
be  able  to  give  any  clear  and  satisfactory  account,  having  been,  in 
fact,  thrown  into  such  disorder  by  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  only  a 
few  rods  in  front,  and  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  great  balls  among 
the  trees,  which  came  tumbling  down  about  our  ears,  and  among 
our  men,  whose  mangled  bodies,  torn  by  these  tremendous  mis- 
siles, filled  me  with  horror  and  astonishment,  that  I  was  no  longer 
able  to  note  the  proceedings  around.  All  that  I  know  is  that  the 
militia  were  too  strong,  and  their  fire  too  hot  for  us  ;  that  we  beat 
a  retreat  in  our  turn,  and  were  pursued  by  the  enemy,  whose  num- 
bers seemed  to  increase  as  they  followed  us,  and  that  our  forces, 
or  at  least  that  portion  of  them  with  which  I  acted,  were  thrown 
into  disorder  by  a  furious  charge  of  the  pursuers,  who  became,  in 
a  manner,  for  a  few  moments,  mingled  with  us,  fighting  in  melee. 
I  remember  very  well  that  a  company  of  the  most  beggarly-look- 
ing militia  of  them  all  came  rushing  up,  like  so  many  devils,  to 
where  I  stood  (without  yet  an  opportunity  to  fly),  led  on  by  a  very 
young  officer  in  uniform,  who  flourished  a  long  cut-and-thrust 
sword,  seemingly  devoured  by  his  own  valor,  and  furiously  cheer- 
ing his  men  to  deeds  of  fame  and  glory. 

Up  to  this  moment,  the  crew  of  the  Jumping  Jenny  had  not  suf- 
fered any  very  great  loss,  and  were  able  to  retreat  in  a  body,  pre- 
senting a  firm  face  to  the  enemy.  But  the  fury  of  the  present  at- 
tack, leveled  particularly  against  us,  was  more  than  we  could 
stand,  especially  as  our  captain  (whom,  however,  nobody  regretted, 
he  was  such  a  tyrant)  was  shot  down  by  a  chance  ball  as  they 
came  on.  Nevertheless  we  (that  is  my  comrades)  made  some  show 


ROBIN   DAY.  175 

of  resistance,  even  when  broken  by  the  fury  of  the  shock,  and  en- 
gaged hand-to-hand  with  the  assailants.  Tom  Gunner,  in  particu- 
lar, swearing  "  he  be  d d  if  he  was  going  to  be  whipped  by  any 

riff  raff  milishymen,"  and  calling  upon  the  men  to  remember  "they 
were  beef-eating  Britons,  and  not  fever  and  aguy  Virginee 
Yankees,"  rushed  against  the  captain  of  the  enemy  with  his  cutlass 
and  immediately  engaged  him  hand-to-hand.  Fierce,  but  brief 
was  the  conflict;  thwack  went  the  cutlass,  clash  went  the  cut  and 
thrust;  "  Surrender,  you  bloody  baby  !"  roared  Tom  Gunner,  the 
epithet  expressing  his  contempt  of  the  officer's  youthful  looks — 
"Die,  you  British  thief  !"  cried  the  latter;  then  thwack  and  clash 
and  clash  and  thwack  again,  until,  suddenly,  the  bold  Tom,  van- 
quished by  the  superior  fortune  or  skill  of  his  antagonist,  fell  to 

the  ground  exclaiming,  "  I'm  done  for,  d me,"  and  ended  his 

marauding  campaigns  forever;  at  least,  I  suppose  so,  that  being  the 
last  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of  him. 


176  ADVENTURES    OP 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Robin  Day  discovers  his  friend  Dicky  Dare  ;  but  his  pleasure  is 
damped  by  a  new  misfortune  which  separates  him  from  his 
brother  adventurer,  and  sends  him  again  upon  the  world  a 
fugitive. 

THE  disorder  into  which  our  company  was  thrown  by  this  furi- 
ous attack  afforded  me  the  opportunity  I  had  so  long  desired  for 
effecting  my  escape — an  opportunity,  however,  of  which  I  did  not 
immediately  take  advantage,  owing  to  my  fears  and  confusion  of 
mind,  having  no  other  thought  at  that  time  but  how  to  get  out  of 
the  reach  of  the  frantic  militia-men,  who  were  dealing  death  upon 
all  before  them.  But  a  circumstance  that  befell  in  the  battle  be- 
twixt Tom  Gunner  and  the  young  officer,  which  was  fought,  as  I 
may  say,  hard  by  me,  startled  me  from  my  panic,  and  recalled  the 
thought  of  escape.  The  appearance  of  the  captain  of  militia  pre- 
sented nothing  unusual  to  my  eyes;  but  his  voice,  proclaiming  de- 
fiance and  the  confidence  of  victory  over  his  opponent,  electrified 
my  inmost  spirit — it  was  the  voice  of  my  friend  Dicky  Dare!  Yes! 
a  look  at  him,  as  his  valiant  arm  whirled  in  the  air  to  strike  the 
blow  that  brought  the  vanquished  Gunner  to  his  feet,  convinced 
me  it  was  indeed  he,  whom  the  lustre  of  a  martial  uniform  could 
now  no  longer  conceal  from  my  eyes.  It  was  he,  my  friend  and 
brother-in-arms,  fighting  like  a  young  Mars,  fighting  in  the  front 
ranks  of  victory,  fighting,  too,  which  was  equally  advantageous  and 
glorious,  on  exactly  the  right  side — on  the  side  of  his  country. 

The  apparition  of  my  friend  and  fellow  adventurer,  so  long  lost, 
so  long  sought,  filled  me  not  only  with  surprise,  but  with  joy  and 
rapture  ;  and  shouting  his  name,  with  a  cry  half  plaintive,  half 
triumphant,  I  rushed  towards  him,  to  put  myself  under  his  pro- 
tection and  command,  with  the  full  intention  of  turning  my  arms 
against  my  friends  of  the  Jumping  Jenny.  But  it  was,  I  soon 
found,  no  easy  matter  to  claim  an  acquaintance,  or  renew  a  friend- 
ship, on  the  field  of  battle. 


ROBIN    DAY.  177 

A  dozen  combatants  rushed  between  me  and  my  friend  ;  and, 
worse  than  that,  they  turned  their  unfriendly  arms  against  me, 
some  crying  "  No  quarter  for  the  robbers,"  while  others  more 
mercifully  bade  me  "Surrender,"  which  I  was  very  willing  to  do. 
"  Surrender,  you  British  murderer  and  plunderer  !  "  cried  one, 
with  tones  of  the  most  virtuous  indignation,  clutching  me,  at  the 
same  time,  by  the  collar.  The  voice  was  another  surprise  ;  and  I 
beheld  in  the  captor  no  less  a  man  than  the  missing  master  of  the 
Jumping  Jenny,  the  detested  Skipper  Duck. 

The  villain  recognized  me  at  the  moment  of  speaking,  and  a 
grin  of  exultation  illumined  his  dark  and  vindictive  countenance. 
"  Little  Cock  Robin  !  blast  my  oyster-tongs  !  "  he  cried,  giving 
me  at  the  same  time  a  furious  box  on  the  ear,  and  another  at  the 
back  of  it,  before  I  could  recover  from  my  surprise.  Then,  clutch- 
ing me  tighter  than  before,  he  swore  I  was  "  a  valuable  capture — 
that  I  was  a  traitor,  an  American  born  subject,  who  had  volun- 
teered with  the  British,  and  been  with  them  at  the  burning  of 
Frenchtown  and  Havre  de  Grace,  and  I  know  not  how  many  other 
fields  of  foray  besides — that  he  was  a  witness,  and  could  swear  to 
all  he  had  charged  me  with — that  they  themselves,  the  militia- 
men, had  caught  me  in  the  very  act  of  treason,  fighting  with  the 
British,  against  my  own  country  and  fellow  citizens — for  which  I 
ought  to  be  hanged  ;  as  I  undoubtedly  would  be."  In  short, 
I  found  that  I  had  stepped  from  one  dilemma  into  another,  that 
Skipper  Duck  had  consigned,  or  was  on  the  point  of  consigning, 
me  to  that  very  fate  I  had  so  patriotically  proposed  for  him,  and 
that  I  was  in  the  fairest  possible  way  of  being  carried  to  the  gal- 
lows for  high  treason. 

There  was,  indeed,  some  prospect  of  my  escaping  this  undesira- 
ble catastrophe,  by  being  murdered  on  the  spot,  Duck's  compan- 
ions, the  militia-men,  being  so  exasperated  by  the  charges  which  I 
could  not  contradict,  (how  could  I,  since  they  were  all  perfectly 
tru^,)  that  some  of  them  proposed  to  blow  out  my  brains,  without 
further  ceremony  or  inquiry. 

At  this  moment,  while  I  was  vainly  struggling  to  explain  away 
the  guilt  of  my  apparent  treason,  by  representing  from  what  good 
motives  I  had  acted,  my  friend  Dicky  Dare  came  hobbling  up,  (for, 
it  seemed,  he  had  received  an  honorable  wound  in  the  battle,)  and, 
with  the  tremendous  voice  of  authority,  ordered  his  men  to  con- 
tinue the  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  who  were  still  on  the  retreat,  de- 


178  ADVENTURES    OF 

claring,  as  if  the  lives  of  all  mankind  depended  upon  his  will,  that 
"  not  a  soul  of  them,"  meaning  the  British,  "  must  be  suffered  to 
reach  their  boats  alive."  Upon  this,  all  opened  their  lips  to  boast 
their  fortunate  capture  of  a  traitor,  and  I  to  claim  the  protection 
of  my  brother-in-arms. 

Dicky  Dare  looked  astonished  at  the  sight  of  me,  and  was  still 
more  amazed  at  the  charge  of  treason  so  volubly  preferred  by  the 
malignant  Skipper,  and  so  hotly  confirmed  by  his  companions  ;  but 
putting  on  the  look  of  a  commander-in-chief,  and  swearing  like  a 
private,  he  ordered  his  men  to  follow  after  the  enemy  without  fur- 
ther delay,  and  leave  the  prisoner  to  him  :  "  On  my  brave  fellows  ! " 
said  the  youthful  chief — "  the  enemy  is  not  yet  cut  to  pieces  :  on, 
then,  and  cover  yourselves  with  immortal  glory  !  " 

"Immortal  glory  forever!  hurrah  for  Uncle  Sam  !"  cried  the 
gallant  ragamuffins,  immediately  resuming  the  pursuit  of  the 
enemy — all  except  Shipper  Duck,  who  seized  me  by  the  collar 
again,  swearing  I  was  "his  prisoner,  and  he  wasn't  going  to  give 
me  up  for  nobody,  blast  his  fish-hooks — but  would  carry  me  to 
head-quarters,  where  he  expected  to  be  handsomely  rewarded  for 
his  prize." 

"  What,  you  mutinous  rascal !  do  you  disobey  orders  ?"  quoth 
Dicky  Dare,  aiming  with  his  sword  a  terrible  blow  at  the  refractory 
Skipper,  which  the  latter  avoided  by  leaping  aside,  without,  how- 
ever, loosing  his  hold  of  me  ;  until  I,  encouraged  by  the  counte- 
nance of  my  friend,  took  part  in  the  affray,  and  knocked  the  vin- 
dictive caitiff  down.  He  then  sneaked  off,  swearing,  as  he 
went,  that  he  would  report  the  valiant  Dicky  at  head-quarters 
for  befriending  the  renegade  whom  he  had  in  vain  taken 
prisoner. 

"  A  confounded  insolent  scoundrel,"  said  Dicky  in  a  fume  ; — 
"  think,  by  Julius  Csesar,  I  have  seen  the  rascal  before." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  it  is  that  notorious  villain,  Skipper  Duck,  that 
used  to  be  of  our  town."  But  Dicky's  thoughts  were  upon  more 
important  subjects. 

"  I  say,  Mr.  Robin  Day,  by  Julius  CaBsar,"  said  he,  in  great 
haste,  yet  with  exceeding  dignity — "  there's  no  time,  while  the 
battle  is  raging,  to  talk  ;  a  brave  man,  sir,  can  think  of  nothing  but 
fighting  ;  so  we  must  be  short.  Do  you  mean  to  allow,  sir,  you 
landed  on  this  soil  in  company  with  British  forces?" 

"I  did,  Dicky „    Bu1 


ROBIN   DAY.  179 

"  And  that  you  came  with  arms  in  your  hands,  a  volunteer  in 
the  British  service  ?" 

"  I  did,  Dicky.     But— 

"  And  that  you  fought  with  them  at  Frenchtown  and  Havre  de 
Grace  ?" 

"  Yes,  Dicky.     But— 

"But  what?"  cried  the  young  patriot,  surveying  me  with  dis- 
gust, and  putting  on  the  lofty  part  of  a  hero  :  "  do  you  expect  to 
excuse  such  an  act,  sir  ?  an  act  of  treason,  sir  ?  I'd  have  you 
to  know,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar,"  he  addeJ,  with  increased  dignity 
and  emphasis,  "I  despise  a  traitor  above  all  created  things  !  My 
old  friend  Sy  Tough  a  volunteer  in  the  British  service  !" 

I  explained  to  him  that  that  was  a  mere  stratagem  of  war — that 
I  had  volunteered  in  the  first  place  by  mistake,  and  then  continued 
to  bear  arms  only  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  my  escape  to  my 
friends,  the  Americans. 

"  H'm,"  said  Dicky,  with  the  snort  of  a  war-horse  blowing  the 
breath  of  contempt  on  his  enemies, — "  and  do  you  suppose  that 
that  excuse  will  serve  your  turn  at  a  court-martial  ?  that  such  a 
motive  as  that — or  any  motive,  by  Julius  Caesar,  sir,  will  justify 
you,  sir,  or  anybody,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar,  sir,  in  taking  up  arms 
against  your  country,  sir  ?" 

These  questions  fairly  set  my  hair  upon  end  ;  and  I  felt  that 
it  was  a  great  omission  I  had  made  not  to  ask  them  of  myself, 
when  first  adopting  that  sagacious  device  by  which  I  designed  to 
effect  my  escape  from  the  British. 

"  I  believe  I  have  been  a  great  fool,  Dicky,"  said  I ;  "  but  I 
hope  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  my  motives  were  good." 

"  Confound  your  motives,"  said  General  Dare,  sublimely ;  "  ac- 
tions, sir,  actions  are  the  things  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  will  look  to.  And  as  for  actions,  here  you  are,  sir, 
taken  in  action,  with  arms  in  your  hands,  fighting  against  your 
country!  I  say,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar!  "  he  cried,  "do  you  know 
wliat  will  be  the  end  of  all  this?  Do  you  know,  sir,  what  is  the 
punishment  for  taking  service  with  the  enemy  ?  " 

I  stammered  out  a  faltering  hope  that  my  case  was  not  so  bad 
as  he  would  have  me  believe. 

"  For  my  part,"  said  Dicky,  "  I  don't  know  whether  they  shoot 
traitors  or  hang  them  ;  but  one  or  the  other  is  certain  for  you, 
by  Julius  Caesar  !  You  are  taken  a  prisoner  to  head-quarters,  ac- 


180  ADVENTURES    OF 

•cused  of  high  treason,  convicted  by  a  court-martial,  and  up  you 
go — or  down,  sir,  I  don't  know  which — but  hemp  or  lead  finishes 
the  business  !" 

"  Alas,  Dicky  !"  I  cried,  reduced  to  despair  ;  and  demanded  if 
he  could  not,  or  would  nor  help  me  out  of  my  desperate  perdic- 
ament. 

"  That's  exactly  what  I  mean  to  do,"  said  Dicky  Dare,  with 
loftier  emphasis  than  ever.  "  I  hate  and  despise  a  traitor  beyond 
mention  ;  but,  for  old  love's  sake,  and  considering  it  is  your  first 
offense,  I  pardon  you.  Go,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar  ;  I  give  you  your 
life  and  liberty — I  release  you;  go,  fly,  save  your  bacon — run, 
jump,  cut  stick,  clear  out !  make  streaks,  I  tell  you,  and  hide  in 
woods  and  caves  from  the  wrath  of  your  injured  and  offended 
country.  As  for  me,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar,  here  goes  again  for 
another  knock  at  her  enemies  !" 

With  these  works  the  youthful  patriot  ran  hobbling  through 
the  woods  after  his  company  and  the  flying  foe,  and  I,  conscious  of 
my  crime  and  of  the  imminent  danger  it  had  plunged  me  into,  be- 
took me  to  my  heels  returning  in  another  direction,  in  which,  I 
judged,  there  was  least  fear  of  falling  again  into  the  hands  of  my 
injured  and  offended  countrymen. 


EOBIK   DAT.  181 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

In  which  Robin  Day  stumbles  upon  another  acquaintance  and 
companion  in  affliction. 

The  words  of  my  friend — "  I  don't  know  whether  they  shoot 
traitors  or  hang  them,  but  hemp  or  lead  must  finish  the  business  " 
— remained  jingling  in  my  ears  for  many  hours  after  I  lost  sight 
of  him,  and  stimulated  the  violent  exertions  which  I  made  to  es- 
cape the  dangerous  vicinity  of  the  battle. 

I  ran  through  the  woods  and  fields,  until  the  lesser  sounds  of  con- 
flict, the  shouts  and  rattle  of  musketry,  no  longer  came  to  my 
ears;  though  I  could  long  hear,  at  intervals,  the  dying  thunder  of 
the  cannon.  But,  by  and  by,  even  this  was  no  longer  heard,  and 
I  had,  therefore,  reason  to  fancy  myself  beyond  the  immediate  dan- 
ger of  pursuit,  supposing  that  pursuit  should  be  attempted;  which 
I  thought  not  unlikely,  considering  the  malicious  temper  of  my 
foe,  Skipper  Duck.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not  cease  running  at  the 
very  top  of  my  speed  as  long  as  my  strength  held,  being  impelled 
by  the  urgency  of  my  fears  to  make  the  most  of  my  time;  and, 
even  when  quite  worn  out  by  my  exertions,  and  obliged  to  pause  to 
take  breath,  I  allowed  myself  only  a  few  moments  of  rest,  and  im- 
mediately resumed  my  journey,  which  I  pursued  as  fast  as  I  could 
walk,  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  felt  satisfied  I  had  left  the 
field  of  battle  more  than  twenty  miles  behind  me. 

Whither  I  was  going  I  did  not  greatly  trouble  myself  to  take 
into  consideration.  My  first  object  was  to  get  out  of  danger,  and 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  patriotic  militia-men,  which  it  appeared 
to  me  would  be  most  easily  effected  by  striking  away  from  the 
coast,  where  I  supposed  all  the  fighting-men  of  Virginia  were  now 
concentrated,  to  repel  the  invader  ;  and  I  had  some  vague  kind 
of  notion,  that,  once  out  of  their  reach,  I  would  hunt  up  some 
other  field  of  glory,  and  there,  by  fighting  very  valiantly  on  the 
side  of  my  country,  wipe  out  the  sin  of  treason,  of  which  I  had 
been  guilty  in  act,  though  not  in  intention. 


182  AD  V  JEN  TUBES    OF 

My  first  object,  then,  was  to  make  my  way  into  the  interior  : 
my  next  desire  was  to  proceed  with  as  little  risk  of  interruption 
as  possible  ;  for  which  reason  I  avoided,  at  least  during  the  great- 
er portion  of  the  day,  all  public  roads,  confining  myself  to  the 
barren  pine  woods  with  which  that  country  is  covered,  and  in  which 
I  had  less  fear  of  stumbling  upon  suspicious  persons — for,  truly, 
that  day,  I  thought  all  persons  were  suspicious.  With  the  same 
view  I  eschewed  all  human  habitations,  giving  a  wide  berth  to 
every  farm  house  and  cottage  it  was  my  fate  to  see,  not  knowing 
what  dangers  I  might  encounter  by  approching  them.  And  hence 
it  happened,  as  I  had  laid  in  no  store  of  provender  for  my  journey, 
that  I  was  in  quite  a  state  of  famine  towards  evening  ;  at  which 
period,  weary  and  forlorn,  I  sat  down  upon  the  bank  of  a  small 
river,  where  a  by-road  crossed  it,  to  bewail  my  hard  fate,  and 
to  devise  some  means,  if  possible,  of  escaping  a  death  of  star- 
vation. 

As  for  my  hard  fate,  it  was  now  undoubtedly  harder  than  ever  ; 
and  I  could  not  but  wonder,  while  I  grieved,  at  the  variety  of 
perils  which  a  persecuting  fortune  had,  in  so  short  a  period, 
heaped  upon  my  back.  First,  I  had  brought  myself  under  the 
danger  of  the  law  for  a  murder — for,  be  it  remembered,  I  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  restoration  to  life  of  the  unfortunate  M'Goggin, 
Mr.  John  Dab's  advices  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding  ;  secondly, 
I  lay  under  an  accusation  of  highway  robbery  and  horse-stealing  ; 
thirdly,  I  had  been  drawn  into  the  commission  of  a  burglary,  and 
a  most  incredibly  audacious  one,  too  ;  and,  last  and  worst  of  all,  I 
was  a  traitor  to  my  country,  accused,  convicted,  condemned,  (at 
least  by  my  friend  Dicky  Dare,)  with  the  most  undeniable  pros- 
pect of  being  hanged,  or  shot,  for  my  pains,  the  moment  my  coun- 
try should  catch  me.  And  all  this  had  happened  within  the  few 
weeks  in  which  I  had  been  left  to  govern  myself  by  my  own  wis- 
dom. "  Alas  !"  I  cried,  beginning  to  doubt  whether  my  wisdom 
was  so  great  as  I  had  supposed  it  to  be — a  doubt  most  distressing 
to  a  sensible  person — beginning  to  question  even  my  ability  to 
take  care  of  myself — a  question  still  more  afflicting  to  a  young 
person  who  has  believed  himself  for  a  while  much  cleverer  than 
others  of  his  species. 

My  hunger  was  also  an  evil  which  sorely  oppressed  me,  and  the 
more  bitterly  as  I  had  still  a  handsome  sum  of  money  about  me, 
enough  to  buy  food  for  a  regiment,  but  which  I  durst  not  apply  to 


ROBIN   DAY.  183 

relieving  my  wants,  for  I  was  afraid  lest  the  attempt  should  only 
lead  to  my  being  taken  up  for  a  suspicious  person. 

When  I  reflected  upon  these  things  and  remembered  that  I  was 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  flying  I  knew  not  well  whither,  but,  as 
I  greatly  feared,  only  from  one  chapter  of  dangers  to  another,  be- 
ing very  hungry  besides,  the  tears  coursed  down  my  cheeks,  and  I 
gave  myself  up  to  despair.  One  while  I  thought  I  would  hang 
myself  in  the  wood  in  which  I  must  otherwise  make  my  bed  ;  and 
then  I  thought  I  would  try  and  catch  a  terrapin  in  the  creek  for 
my  supper.  But  the  terrapin  slid  off  his  log  the  moment  I  be- 
gan to  look  too  hard  at  him,  and  the  thought  of  suspension  passed 
from  my  mind  as  too  disagreeable  to  be  debated.  Now,  I  had 
some  notion  of  going  back  to  the  militia  to  surrender  myself  to  the 
court  martial,  trusting  to  the  influence  of  my  friend  Dicky  Dare, 
whose  regimentals  convinced  me  he  had  become  a  great  character, 
to  come  off  in  safety  ;  and  then  I  half  proposed  even  to  return  to 
New  Jersey  and  take  my  trial  for  the  killing  of  M'Goggin.  In 
the  one  case  I  should  have  the  satisfaction  of  being  near  iny  brother- 
in-arms  ;  in  the  other  of  being  befriended  by  my  beneficent  pa- 
tron ;  but  in  either  I  must  run  a  risk  of  "hemp  or  lead,"  which  I 
could  not  bear  to  think  of.  But  what  was  I  to  do  ?  how  was  I  to 
escape  the  perils  that  followed  me  behind,  and  perhaps  environed 
me  in  front ;  and  also  how  was  I  to  get  my  supper  ? 

While  I  sat  weeping  and  asking  myself  these  questions  in  vain, 
entirely  absorbed  by  the  greatness  of  my  distresses,  I  was  sur- 
prised by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  horseman,  who  rode  up 
through  the  soft  sandy  road  without  my  hearing  him,  or  suspect- 
ing his  presence,  until  he  made  it  known  by  an  abrupt  question  : 

"  I  say,  brother,  d n  my  blood,"  he  cried,  "  do  you  swim  this 

river  or  jump  over  it  ?" 

The  sound  of  a  man's  voice  so  near  me,  my  dangers  considered, 
was  sufficiently  alarming  ;  but  there  was  something  in  the  speak- 
er's tones  that  doubled  my  dread,  which  was  still  further  in- 
creased, when,  looking  in  his  face,  I  perceived  to  my  amazement 
the  harsh  features  of  the  pseudo  Bloodmoney,  my  fellow  burglar, 
the  redoubted  Brown,  alias  Captain  Hellcat. 

Nor  was  his  memory  a  whit  more  backward  than  my  own  ;  he 
recognized  me  in  a  moment,  looked  astonished,  and  then  burst  into 
an  immoderate  fit  of  laughter,  demanding,  with  great  emphasis, 
"  What  cheer  now,  lieutenant  ?" 


184  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

A  conversation  between  Robin  Day  and  his  friend  Captain 
JBrotcn,  in  which  the  latter  throws  some  light  upon  the  adven- 
ture of  the  highwayman. 

MUCH  as  I  had  reason  to  fear  and  detest  this  remarkable  person- 
age, Captain  Brown,  by  whom  I  had  been  so  basely  defrauded  and 
cheated  into  a  participation  in  knavery,  and  who  I  had  cause  from 
his  own  confessions  to  believe  was,  or  had  once  been,  a  noted  pirate, 
yet  my  feelings  at  sight  of  him  mingled  something  like  satisfac- 
tion with  my  fear  and  resentment.  I  was  so  forlorn  and  helpless 
in  the  midst  of  embarrassment  and  danger,  so  much  in  want  of  a 
friend  to  counsel  and  assist  me,  that  even  Captain  Hellcat's  coun- 
tenance appeared  to  me  desirable.  At  such  a  moment,  I  could  have 
accepted  the  friendship  of  almost  Old  Nick  himself.  He  had  done 
me  a  great  deal  of  mischief  to  be  sure,  but,  in  my  present  situation, 
it  was  scarcely  possible  he  could  do  me  any  more.  From  his  cour- 
age and  worldly  experience,  nay  even  from  his  good  will — for  I 
almost  looked  upon  him  as  a  friend,  though  a  mischievous  and  dan- 
gerous one — much  was  to  be  expected;  and,  besides,  our  adventures 
together  had  established  a  kind  of  community  of  interests  between 
us,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent  (were  we  not  house-robbers  and  run- 
aways together?),  which,  I  thought,  must  ensure  me  his  good  offi- 
ces at  this  moment  of  difficulty  and  distress.  I  resolved,  in  a  word, 
having  no  other  way  to  help  myself,  to  throw  myself  upon  his 
friendship,  and  trust  to  him  for  rescue  from  the  dangers  that  beset 
me. 

Yet  I  could  not  avoid  opening  upon  him  in  terms  of  reproach, 
the  more  particularly  as  he  followed  up  his  first  questions  by  de- 
manding, with  another  laugh  as  obstreperous  as  the  first,  "  what 
curse  of  a  scrape  I  had  got  myself  into  now  ?  and  why  I  sat  there 
gasping  on  the  river-bank,  like  a  stranded  catfish  ?" 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  whatever  scrape  I  have  got  into  is  all  owing  to 
you,  who  imposed  upon  my  ignorance  so  grossly,  and  so  brought 


ROBIN    DAY.  185 

me  to  ruin."    And  I  could  scarcely  avoid  again  bursting  into  tears 
at  the  thought  of  it. 

"I bring  you  to  ruin  ?"  quoth  Captain  Brown;  "  why,  hang  me, 
you  look  very  comfortable,  considering  all  things;  and  I  don't 
think  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Lovely  Nancy,  d'ye  see,  intends 
to  break  his  heart  for  a  small  matter." 

"  You  may  call  it  a  small  matter,  Mr.  Hellcat,  or  whatever  you 
entitle  yourself,"  said  I,  nettled  into  courage  by  the  grin  of  deri- 
sion with  which  he  emphasized  the  title  of  first  lieutenant,  "to 
pass  youself  off  for  another  man"  (Captain  Hellcat  grinned 
harder  than  ever,  "  to  open  letters  not  addressed  to  you,  to  pocket 

money  that  did  not  belong  to  you " 

"  Only  a  hundred  dollars,  shiver  my  timbers!"  quoth  he,  the 
grin  becoming  still  broader. 

"  And,  after  cheating  me  so  unhandsomely,  to  make  me  an  ac- 
complice in  a  house-robbery,  to  the  ruin  of  my  character,  and  al- 
most the  loss  of  my  life  ;  for,  I  assure  you,  I  escaped  from  Mr. 
Bloodmoney's  house  almost  by  a  miracle." 

"  Did  you  ?  by  -  "  but  the  oath  may  be  omitted  :— "  did  you,  in- 
deed ?"  cried  Captain  Brown,  with  another  explosion  of  merriment 
-"and  so  did  I;  it  was  only  by  knocking  out  the  watchman's 

brains  with  a  poker,  and " 

"  Good  Heavens  !"  said  I,  starting  with  horror,  "  you  did  not 
commit  a  murder  ?" 

"No,"  said  Captain  Brown,  innocently— "  only  knocked  out  the 
brains  of  a  watchman,  and  stabbed  one  of  the  niggers." 

"  And  if  these  are  not  murders,"  said  I,  petrified,  "  what  is  ?" 
"What  is?"  quoth  Captain  Hellcat,  giving  me  a  ferocious  stare 
— "  why,  d— n  my  blood,  stopping  the  weasand  of  a  crying  baby 
drowning  a  woman  at  sea— twisting  the  neck  of  your  own  brother 
— there's  a  kind  of  murder  for  you,  split  me  ;  but  there's  plenty 
more,  when  you  come  to  think  of  it ;  such  as  defrauding  widows, 
robbing  orphans,  belying  honest  men,  grinding  the  face  of  the 
poor,  and  stabbing  men  in  the  dark— all  murder,  that,  d— n  my 
blood,  and  bloody  murder,  too  !  But  as  for  breaking  a  head,  or 
sticking  a  gizzard,  in  open  fight,  why  that's  all  fair  and  square, 
and  above  board,  split  my  timbers." 

"But  you  don't  mean  to  say,"  quoth  I,  almost  ready  to  take  to 
my  heels  and  fly  from  the  desperado,  "that  you  killed  the  watch- 
and  the  negro  ?" 


186  ADVENTURES    OF 

"  I'll  be  hanged,"  said  captain  Brown,  "  if  I  know  what  was  the 
end  of  it  ;  for  d'ye  see,  I  left  them  in  a  sort  of  tornado,  having 
neither  time  nor  weather  for  observations.  But,  I  say,  my  hearty, 
how  did  you  slip  your  moorings  ?  and  what  brings  you  into  these 
sand-fly  latitudes  ?" 

"  You  brought  me  here,"  said  I,  with  a  sigh  ;  "  I  fled  here  to 
escape  the  consequences  of  your  imposition — to  avoid  arrest,  im- 
prisonment, shame  and  ruin.  You  see  me  now  what  you  have 
made  me,  a  fugitive  from  the  laws." 

"  Shiver  my  topsails,"  said  Captain  Hellcat,  "  but  you  speak  as 
if  that  was  a  great  matter  !  Where's  the  difference.  You  don't 
think  Bloodmoney  and  the  constables  are  still  after  you  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  but  they  are,"  I  replied  ;  adding — "  But  that  is 
not  the  worst  of  my  misfortunes." 

And  here  I  hastened  to  explain  the  later  evils  into  which  I  had 
fallen,  and  all  which  I  properly  laid  to  his  door — my  unlucky  trea- 
son, the  narrow  escape  I  had  just  had  from  the  court-martial,  and 
the  danger  I  was  still  in,  a  story,  which,  told  in  few  words  and 
with  all  the  energy  of  distress,  only  renewed  the  mirth  of  Mr. 
Jack  Brown,  alias  Captain  Hellcat,  who  swore  I  was  "  a  rum  one, 
born  to  die  on  salt  water  ;  or,  why,  I  must  have  been  triced  up  by 
Jack  Ketch  long  ago." 

"  And  so  you  think  there's  nobody  in  a  pickle  but  yourself  ?"  he 
added,  with  profane  emphasis,  and  laughing  furiously  ;  "  I'll  be 
hanged  if  you  ain't  mistaken  though.  Here  am  I,  your  com- 
mander, split  me,  making  foul  weather  enough  to  sink  an  Injie- 
man,  with  great  guns  blowing  on  one  quarter  and  hellcats  spitting 
on  the  other,  a  white  squall  astern,  and  ahead,  a  sea  whereof  I 
knows  as  much  as  a  pig  does  of  a  mizzen-top,  no  chart  aboard,  log- 
line  lost  overboard,  sextant  broken  all  to  smash,  and  the  compass 
gone  to  the  devil.  Here  conies  I  down  hereaway,  an  honest  man, 
to  fight  the  battles  of  my  country  ;  and,  split  me,  didn't  I  offer 
the  same  thing  in  Philadelphia  ?  and  a  fine  return  I  got  for  my 
venture.  There's  Bloodmoney,  sink  him  !  first  turned  me  the  cold 
shoulder,  and  then  would  have  clapped  me  in  the  bilboes,  for  play- 
ing him  a  little  bit  of  an  innocent  trick,  split  me  :"  ("  A  very  in- 
nocent little  trick  !"  thought  I,  amazed  at  the  cool  composure  with 
which  he  spoke  of  that  adventure)  :  "  and  so,  shiver  me,  I  had  to 
slip  my  cable,  and  leave  their  cursed  Quaker  port  under  a  press  of 
canvas.  Then  brings  I  up  here  at  Norfolk,  to  fight  the  bloody 


ROBIN    DAY.  187 

British,  along  with  the  lubberly  milishy  ;  and  hang  me,  I  could 
have  shown  them  what  fighting  was  either  at  long  shots  with  the 
great  guns,  or  at  close  quarters  with  pistol,  hanger,  and  Spanish 
knife,  whereof  I  knows  the  use  ;  when,  as  Davy  Jones  would 

have  it,  who  should  come  up  but  a  dog-faced  villain  named  Duck 

» 

"  Skipper  Duck  ?"  cried  I,  interrupting  my  honest  friend,  now 
-extremely  earnest  and  eloquent  in  his  relation.  But  earnestness 
and  eloquence  vanished  at  the  interruption  ;  and  he  turned  upon 
me,  with  another  roar  of  laughter,  to  which  he  seemed  ever  un- 
commonly prone. 

"  What  !  you  know  Skipper  Duck  then  ?"  he  cried  ;  "  an 
honest  dog  as  ever  lived,  may  the  sharks  eat  him  !" 

"  As  big  a  knave  as  ever  went  unhung  !"  said  I ;  and  im- 
mediately informed  him  how  my  present  dangers  were  all  owing 
to  the  malice  of  Duck,  who  had  accused  me  of  the  treason  I  had 
so  unluckily,  though  with  no  evil  intention,  committed. 

"Exactly  my  own  case,  shiver  me!"  cried  Captain  Brown, 
laughing  harder  than  ever  :  "  Up  comes  the  lubber,  that  was  one 
of  my  dirty  dogs  of  old,  and  spins  his  yarn  to  the  Posse  Come- 
atibus,  or  Come-at-us,  or  whatever  you  call  it  ;  and  theif  there  was 
a  hellaballoo  ;  for,  sink  me,  says  he,  d'ye  see,  c  Here's  Hellcat,  the 
pirate, — the  horse-marine  !  So  there  was  no  cruizing  longer  in 
them  latitudes,  d'ye  see  ;  and  away  I  scuds,  a  ship  in  distress,  with 
a  whole  fleet  of  small-craft  land- thieves  peppering  after  me  ;  for, 
hang  me,  them  cursed  Britishers  have  brought  them  down  here- 
away as  thick  as  land  crabs  on  a,  sea  beach.  And  in  the  midst  of 
the  row,  up  comes  another  enemy  on  the  weather  bow,  and  claims 
the  very  ship  I  sails  on — my  horse,  split, me — as  honestly  borrowed 
as  need  be  ;  and  then  there  was  another  storm  about  my  ears,  and 
it  was  on  one  side,  '  stop  pirate  !'  and  on  the  other,  'stop  thief  !' 
and  all  that.  And  here  I  am,  my  skillagallee,  in  as  dirty  a  kettle 
of  fish  as  may  be,  and  here  are  you  in  another ;  and  here  we 
are  both  of  us,  hard  chased,  a  regiment  of  Jack  Ketches  under  full 
sail  behind,  and  a  whole  forest  of  gallows-trees  around  us." 

Here  Captain  Brown  paused  to  take  breath,  and  to  indulge  in 
another  peal  of  laughter.  His  account  increased  my  dismay,  for 
it  was  evident  his  presence  only  doubled  my  perils  by  adding 
those  peculiar  to  himself,  and  it  was  equally  clear,  if  arrested,  I 
.should  gain  nothing  by  being  caught  in  his  company.  Here,  then, 


188  ADVENTURES    OF 

was  a  man  who  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  that  he  was  a  rogue 
and  reprobate  of  the  highest,  or  lowest,  grade,  whom  I  had  known 
to  my  cost,  a  swindler  and  burglar,  and  who  was,  from  his  own 
showing,  a  pirate,  horse  thief,  and  most  probably  a  murderer  ; 
who  was,  besides,  closely  pursued,  and  in  momentary  danger  of 
arrest,  and  who  was  of  so  callous  and  hardened  a  nature  as  to  make 
mirth  equally  of  his  danger  and  his  crimes.  From  association 
with  such  a  wretch  I  should,  at  another  moment,  have  revolted 
with  horror,  as  even  now  I  felt  I  ought  to  do.  But,  alas  !  my 
fears  conquered  my  scruples.  The  very  indifference  with  which 
he  spoke  of  his  villainies  and  perils,  his  furious  mirth  and  savage 
gaiety,  proved  a  consciousness  of  power  to  escape  all  embarass- 
ments — a  power  of  which  my  necessities  urged  me  to  accept  the 
advantage.  It  was  better  even  to  be  the  comrade  of  Captain  Hell- 
cat then  to  be  hanged,  or  shot,  by  a  court-martial.  Besides,  I 
felt  that  I  was  already,  in  a  measure,  degraded  ;  why  then  should  I 
recoil,  as  one  with  an  untarnished  reputation  might  have  done, 
from  the  profit  of  another  step  in  dishonor  ? 

It  is,  alas,  such  a  consideration  that  confirms  the  ruin  of  half 
the  rogues  in  the  universe.  Reputation  is  the  palladium  of  virtue 
(where  religion  has  not  substituted  a  diviner  bulwark)  ;  and  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  lose  it,  or  think  we  have  lost  it,  without  slack- 
ening in  the  defense  of  integrity. 

"  Alas,  what  is  to  be  done  ?"  I  cried  ;  "  we  shall  be  caught  and 
condemned  to  death." 

"  Speak  for  yourself  !"  said  Captain  Brown  ;  "  as  for  me,  I've 
no  notion  of  any  such  cursed  nonsense.  And  as  for  being  outnav- 
igated,  or  outwitted,  by  any  snubface  of  a  landsman,  why  there, 
my  skilligallee,  you're  out  of  your  reckoning." 

"  I  hope,  Captain  Brown,"  said  I,  "  you  won't  desert  me." 

"  Desert  you,  my  hearty  !"  quoth  Brown,  "  I  never  deserted  a 
shipmate  that  was  willing  to  stand  by  me  ;  and  split  me,  I  said 
you  should  be  my  lieutenant  on  board  the  Lovely  Nancy,  and  I 
mean  to  stick  by  the  articles.  But,  I  say,  you  Bob  Lucky " 

«  Robin  Day,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Robin  Day,  I  say,  have  you  any  idea  how  to  play 
nigger  ?  Look  you,  my  lad,"  he  added,  seeing  that  I  did  not  un- 
derstand the  question  ;  "  I'm  for  a  voyage  to  see  the  world,  sink 
me — that  is,  the  land  part  of  it  ;  and  I  goes  under  false  colors  ; 
and  why,  d'ye  see,  can't  you  f 


BOBIN    DAY.  189 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I'll  do  whatever  you  tell  me,  provided  it  is  not 
criminal.  And  I  give  you  to  understand,"  I  added,  boldly,  "  that 
I  will  neither  steal  horses,  nor  rob  houses,  nor  knock  out  watchmen's 
brains,  nor  stab  negroes,  nor " 

"  Hold  fast  there,"  cried  Brown,  laughing  ;  "  I  intend  to  try  an 
honest  life  myself,  shiver  my  timbers,  for  I  loves  variety." 

And  he  directed  me  to  hold  his  bridle,  while  he,  without  leaving 
the  horse,  proceeded  to  effect  some  changes  in  his  outward  ap- 
pearance, for  the  purposes  of  disguise.  The  first  thing  he  did 
was  to  clap  to  his  face  a  set  of  false  whiskers  and  beard,  ex- 
tremely huge  and  ferocious  looking,  and  yet  so  natural  withal 
that  no  one  would  have  suspected  they  were  placed  there  in  any 
other  mode  than  by  the  natural  process  of  growth  ;  and  it  was 
wonderful  the  change  they  made  in  his  appearance. 

The  transformation  was  to  me  the  more  astonishing,  as  I  im- 
mediately recognized  in  the  hairy  visage  the  grim  looks  of  the 
highwayman — that  identical  villain  who,  at  the  beginning  of  my 
misfortunes,  in  the  night  of  flight,  had  made  the  unsuccessful 
attack  on  the  purses  of  Dicky  Dare  and  myself,  and  succeeded  in 
shifting  the  charge  of  his  crime  upon  me,  and  running  off  with 
Bay  Tom  and  my  saddle  bags. 


190  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

The  two  friends  put  themselves  into  disguise,  and  make  prepara- 
tions for  a  career  of  philanthrophy. 

MY  start  of  fear  made  the  honest  Proteus  acquainted  with  the 
discovery,  which  he  distinguished  with  a  fresh  peal  of  merriment, 
exclaiming,  "  Aha,  my  cock  of  the  game  !  you've  discovered  an- 
other old  friend,  have  you  ?  Happy  dog,  to  be  so  well  provided  ! 
But,  I  say,  you  conf ounded  baby,"  he  added,  '•  do  you  know  you 
came  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  shooting  my  brains  out  ?  " 

"It  was  not  I;  it  was  my  friend  Dicky  Dare,"  said  I,  sighing 
to  think  of  his  braver  spirit  and  happier  fate.  "  But,  now  we 
talk  of  it,  I  should  like  to  know  upon  what  principles  you  justify 
that  nefarious  attack." 

"Principles  !"  quoth  Captain  Brown;  "it  is  long  since  I  have 
sailed  in  them  latitudes,  split  me  !  But,  after  all,  my  skilligallee, 
it  was  only  a  bit  of  a  joke  ;  for  there  was  I  on  the  road,  and  here 
came  two  cursed  cub-headed  schoolboys,  just  run  away  from  the 
master,  bragging  of  their  money  ;  and  so  the  devil  got  into  me1 
for  a  spree,  and  says  I,  'Strike,  my  hearties!'  An  who  would 
have  thought  of  an  unlicked  schoolboy  firing  a  pistol  in  Jack 
Brown's  face — half  blowing  his  brains  out  ?  " 

"  Perhaps,"  said  I,  "  that  was  a  mere  joke,  too,  your  accusing 
me  of  being  the  robber  ?  " 

"  No,  hang  it,"  said  Captain  Brown,  laughing,  "  that  was  quite 
a  serious  piece  of  business;  for  how  else  was  I  to  get  out  of  the 
jaws  of  them  jackasses,  the  wagoners  ?" 

"  And  pray,  Captain  Brown,"  said  I,  "  allow  me  to  ask  what  you 
did  with  my  horse,  Bay  Tom  ?" 

"  Sold  him,  hang  me,"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  with  the  utmost 
coolness — "  sold  him  to  a  lubber  of  a  Jerseyman  ;  and,  shiver  my 
timbers,"  he  added  with  energy,  "the  money  was  all  counterfeit, 
and  was  nigh  getting  me  in  limbo  into  Philadelphia,  where  not  a 


ROBIN    DAY.  191 

rogue  of  'em  would  take  it.  Nevertheless,"  he  continued,  "I 
find  it  very  good  here  in  Virginia — at  a  discount  !" 

By  this  time,  the  worthy  gentleman,  who  made  all  these  con- 
fessions with  equal  frankness  and  composure,  had  completed  his 
disguise,  having  substituted  for  the  long-tailed  coat  he  had  on,  a 
seaman's  jacket,  which  he  took  from  a  bundle  behind  him,  and 
which  was,  I  believe,  that  identical  garment  he  had  worn  at  his 
introduction  on  the  highway.  The  coat  took  the  place  of  the 
jacket  in  his  bundle  ;  a  handsome  cloth  cap  which  he  had  on  his 
head  was  turned  wrong  side  out,  and  converted  into  a  worsted 
bonnet ;  and  he  looked  the  sailor  to  perfection. 

Having  thus  effected  his  own  "transmogrification,"  as  he 
called  it,  he  proposed  making  some  changes  also  in  my  appearance ; 
to  which,  being  convinced  by  my  fears  of  their  necessity,  I  reluc- 
tantly consented.  They  were  extremely  simple,  and  consisted 
merely  in  gathering  my  hair  into  sundry  tails  or  queues,  which  he 
knotted  with  ropeyarns,  produced  from  his  stores — in  placing  on 
my  head  a  kind  of  turban  made  of  a  bandanna  handkerchief,  in- 
stead of  my  cap,  which  I  found  room  for  in  my  pocket — and 
finally,  in  darkening  my  naturally  tawny  complexion,  by  rubbing 
my  face  and  hands  with  moistened  tobacco,  a  chunk  of  which  he 
furnished  me  for  the  purpose. 

What  particular  object  he  had  in  view  in  thus  transforming 
me,  and  especially  in  knotting  my  hair,  I  believe  he  did  not  know 
himself  ;  but  when  the  task  was  finished,  he  swore  he  had  "  made 
a  man  of  me  ;"  though  it  was  my  own  opinion,  as  I  looked  at  my- 
self in  the  river,  the  only  convenient  looking-glass,  that  he  had 
made  me  a  scarecrow.  I  was  ashamed  of  my  appearance,  ashamed 
of  my  disguise  ;  but  Brown  assured  me,  over  and  over  again,  it 
was  essential  to  my  safety,  and  I  was  forced  to  submit. 

This  matter  finished,  we  crossed  the  river,  which  was  f  ordable, 
and  preceded  on  our  adventures,  Brown  saying  he  could  complete 
our  arrangements  as  well  while  traveling  as  while  lying  at  anchor 
there  on  the  road,  to  be  boarded  all  of  a  sudden  by  our  enemies. 

As  I  walked  along  at  his  side,  my  faithful  friend  began  the  com- 
pletion of  the  arrangements  as  above  mentioned,  by  asking  me 
"how  I  was  off  in  the  lockers?"  which  question  not  suiting  my 
comprehension,  he  explained  it  by  asking  "  how  much  money  I 
had  in  my  pockets  ?" 

As  I  had  not  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  world  in  my  com- 


192  ADVENTURES    OF 

rade's  honesty,  I  felt  but  little  disposed  to  put  it  to  any  greater 
temptation  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  therefore  replied 
ambiguously,  that  "  if  he  would  remember  how  he  himself  had 
appropriated  the  contents  of  my  letter  of  recommendation  to  Mr. 
Bloodmoney,  and  call  to  mind  the  disasters  I  had  suffered  ever 
since,  he  might  imagine  my  funds  were  light  enough." 

"  That  is,  I  suppose,"  quote  he,  "  you  mean  to  say  you  are  as 
bare  as  a  beggar's  platter  ;  and  if  1  say  so  too,  why  there's  two  of 
us,  that's  all  ;  only  there's  some  of  them  Jersey  counterfeits  yet 
lying  under  hatches.  But  where's  the  difference?  Them  that 
knows  how  to  fish,  never  dabbles  among  herrings  for  nothing  ;  and 
money,  my  hearty,  is  just  the  same  thing  as  herrings,  split  me. 
There's  enough  of  it  scattered  about  among  the  lubbers  here  along 
shore,  and  it  will  go  hard  if  we  don't  light  upon  some  way  of  grab- 
ing  our  portion." 

"  I  give  you  to  understand,  as  I  did  before,  Captain  Brown," 
said  I,  alarmed  at  what  I  deemed  a  hint  of  evil  designs  upon  my 
integrity,  as  well  as  upon  the  pockets  of  the  good  people  of  Virgin- 
ia, "  that,  however  you  may  think  it  a  joke  to  seize  upon  the 
property  of  other  people,  I  don't  ;  and  I  won't  be  drawn  into  any 
kind  of  swindling  or  roguery,  I  assure  you." 

At  this,  Captain  Brown  grinned  with  amiable  contempt,  and  re- 
peated that  he  was  going  to  live  as  honest  a  life  as  anybody  ; 
"  for,  shiver  his  timbers,"  he  wanted  to  know  what  it  felt  like. 
"But,"  said  he,  in  his  usual  emphatic  manner,  "we  must  put  on 
some  kind  of  character,  my  skilligallee,  hoist  some  sort  of  colors, 
split  me  ;  and  if  they  happen  to  be  false  ones,  where's  the  differ- 
ence ?  Since  not  a  lubberly  rascal  of  us  all  ever  sails  under  his 
own  bunting." 

With  that,  he  asked  me  "  what  I  was  good  for — what  I  knew — 
what  I  was  brought  up  to  ?"  and  I  replied,  that  I  had  not  yet  de- 
voted myself  to  any  particular  study,  but  that  I  had  some  little 
knowledge  of  the  languages,  the  mathematics,  and  other  academic 
sciences. 

"  Hang  the  languages,  and  mathematics,  and  academy  sciences," 
quoth  the  vandal,  contemptuously.  "  Can  you  sing  a  song,  dance 
a  jig,  jump  on  a  tight-rope,  play  hocus-pocus,  eat  fire,  transmog- 
rify shillings,  or  any  of  that  sort  of  thing?" 

I  was  obliged  to  reply  in  the  negative ;  upon  which  he  expressed 
so  much  disappointment  and  contempt  of  my  ignorance  that  I  was 


KOBIN   DAY. 

compelled,  in  ray  defense,  to  remind  him  that  I  had  but  just  emerged 
from  my  schoolday  existence  into  the  life  of  manhood  ;  that  I  had 
not  yet  had  time  to  learn  much,  and,  although  about  to  commence 
the  study  of  a  profession  when  my  wanderings  began,  I  had  done 
little  more,  as  yet,  than  read  a  few  medical  books  in  my  patron's 
office. 

"  Doctor's  books  ?"  quoth  he,  with  great  animation,  "  what,  you 
can  play  Pilgarlic  then  ?  Nothing  better  :  we'll  set  up  doctor 
and  physic  the  folks  wherever  we  catch  them." 

I  assured  him,  hastily,  "  I  had  not  knowledge  of  physic  sufficient 
to  undertake  the  part  of  a  practitioner. 

"  Oh,  never  mind  the  knowledge,"  said  Captain  Brown,  grinning^ 
at  the  happiness  of  the  conceit ;  "  it's  the  idea  we  want,  and  that 
will  do  the  business.  And  as  for  being  regular  doctors,  I  don't 
mean  no  such  thing,  sink  me  ;  I  goes  entirely  for  the  quacking 
system." 

I  gave  my  friend  to  understand  I  had  no  more  appetite  for 
quacking  than  for  scientific  physicing ;  that  I  knew  my  own  incom- 
petency,  and,  knowing  it,  was  too  conscientious  to  be  willing  to 
trifle  with  the  lives  of  my  fellow-beings  in  a  medical  way  ;  and 
was  pursuing  the  argument  warmly  when  he  interrupted  me  with 
sundry  oaths,  declaring  he  intended  to  do  all  the  physicing  him- 
self, and  required  nothing  more  of  me  than  to  look  wise,  while  he 
administered  to  the  wants  of  the  afflicted,  and  when  appealed  to 
by  him,  to  reply  in  certain  cabalistic  phrases,  which  he  proceeded 
to  teach  me. 

"  You  see,  d'ye  see,"  said  he,  with  the  glee  of  a  schoolboy  setting 
traps  for  the  neighbors'  cats,  "  ./passes  for  an  old  sailor  that  has 
seen  the  world — and  shiver  my  timbers,  I'm  just  the  man  that  has 
seen  it,  and  that  knows  it ;  and  you  passes,  my  lark,  for  one  of 
them  wise  Injiemen,  d'ye  see,  that  knows  all  things,  an  Injun 
Magi,  or  Midge-eye,  or  whatever  you  call  it,  that  can  make  white 
black,  and  black  white,  and  see  a  blasted  heap  farther  through  a 
millstone  than  other  people." 

"But,"  said  I;  "  I  can't  make  white  black,  and  black  white,  nor 
can  I  see  further  through  a  millstone  than  other  people." 

"  I'll  be  hang'd  if  you  can't,  though,"  said  Captain  Brown,  laugh- 
ing. "Harkee,  my  skilligallee ;  can  you  say  Holly -golly -wow?" 

"  Yes,"  replied  I,  repeating  the  mystic  word,  "  but  I  don't  know 
what  it  means." 


194  ADVENTUEES    OF 

"  And  Sammy -ram-ram  fn  quoth  Captain  Brown. 

"  Sammy-ram-ram"  said  I. 

"  Bravo  !"  said  Captain  Brown,  with  another  explosion  of  mer- 
riment, "  that  will  do.  Them  two  words  will  make  a  man  of  you  ; 
and  hearkee,  my  hearty,  they  are  the  only  ones  you  are  to  speak. 
You  don't  understand  English,  d'ye  see,  and  speaks  only  in  your 
native  lingo." 

"  But  what,"  said  I,  "  do  Holly-golly-wow  and  Sammy-ram-ram 
mean?" 

"  What  do  they  mean  ?  Why,  hang  me  if  I  know,  nor  anybody 
else,  for  that  matter,"  quoth  Captain  Brown.  "  All  that  you  have 
to  do  is  to  roll  out  the  one  or  the  other,  when  I  speaks  to  you,  and 
with  as  much  of  an  owl  look  as  you  can,  and  understand  nothing 
that  is  spoke  in  English ;  for,  you  see,  d'ye  see,  you  don't  know 
the  language.  Yes,"  he  added,  surveying  me  with  rapture,  "  with 
that  tobacco-colored  mug,"  (here  the  gentleman  meant  my  visage,) 
"  them  monkey-tailed  streamers,"  (here  he  designated  my  dishon- 
ored locks,)  "  that  dishclout  turban,"  (meaning  the  bandanna  cap) 
"  and  a  small  matter  of  wise  looks,  holly -gqlly -wow  and  sammy- 
ram-ram  will  carry  it  against  the  world  !  But  now  for  laying  in 
a  stock  of  physic." 

With  these  words,  my  accomplished  associate  drew  from  his 
pocket  a  twist  of  tobacco,  which,  as  he  rode  slowly  along,  he  bit 
into  sundry  small  pieces,  suitable  for  his  purpose;  and  then,  com- 
manding me  to  pick  up  some  clay  from  a  puddle  on  the  roadside, 
he  formed  of  it  a  number  of  formidable  looking  boluses,  in  each 
of  which  was  imbedded  a  morsel  of  tobacco.  Of  these  he  gave 
me  some  to  carry  exposed  to  the  air,  that  they  might  dry  the  sooner; 
and  others  he  stowed  away  in  a  paper  in  his  cap  for  the  same 
purpose,  swearing  that  his  head  was  the  hottest  part  of  his 
body. 

I  ventured  to  express  a  hope  that  he  had  no  intention  to  admin- 
ister these  highly  original  pills  to  any  human  beings ;  as,  from  what 
little  I  had  learned  of  the  medicinal  powers  of  tobacco,  I  feared 
that  some  of  them  were  strong  enough  to  produce  very  dangerous 
consequences. 

"  The  consequences  be  curs'd,"  said  he,  with  sublime  disregard  of 
all  petty  contingencies;  "that's  the  lookout  of  the  patient.  How- 
ever," he  added  more  amiably,  "  I  don't  think  any  pill  of  tobacco 
under  a  pound  in  weight  would  stir  the  stomach  of  folks  in  these 


ROBIN    DAY.  195 

latitudes;  because  how,  they  eats  it,  and  it  is  meat  and  drink  to 
them." 

Being  moved,  however,  by  my  remonstrances,  he  consented  to 
add  a  store  of  less  energetic  medicaments  to  the  boluses.  He  di- 
rected me  to  pick  him  up  a  handful  of  sand  from  the  roadside,, 
which  he  wrapped  up  in  paper  and  deposited  in  his  pocket,  declaring 
that  he  now  had  physic  enough  to  cure  all  the  diseases  that  flesh 
was  heir  to. 

These  important  preparations  completed,  he  assured  me  we  were 
now  safe  from  all  danger  and  suspicion,  and  might  enter  any  house 
or  village  in  Virginia  without  fear;  which  I  was  the  more  happy 
to  believe,  as  I  was  now  half  dead  with  hunger,  and  the  night  was 
beginning  to  close  around  us.  And,  by  and  by,  approaching  a  little 
hamlet,  consisting  of  a  tavern,  a  store,  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  one 
or  two  scattered  cottages,  we  proceeded  up  to  it  without  hes- 
itation, though,  on  my  part,  not  without  some  misgivings,  because 
of  a  great  number  of  persons,  who,  at  sight  of  us,  came  rushing  out 
of  the  tavern  door. 


196  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Containing  Robin  Day's  first  essay  as  a  quack  doctor,  and  the 
wonder/til  effects  of  the  Magian  medicine. 

"  Now,"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  with  one  of  his  customary  ex- 
pletives, "  remember  to  hold  your  tongue,  and  to  know  nothing, 
except  when  I  talks  to  you  in  the  East-Injun  tongue,  or  what's  the 
same  thing,  any  nonsensical  gibberish  that  may  pass  for  it ;  and 
then  out  with  the  Holly -golly -wow  or  Sammy -ram-ram  ;  and  my 
skilligalee,  you'll  see  what  will  be  the  end  of  it." 

With  these  words  he  rode  boldly  up  to  the  tavern  door,  I  follow- 
ing, with  what  face  I  could,  at  his  heels. 

For  a  moment  no  one  noticed  me  ;  all  occupied  with  Captain 
Brown,  of  whom  they  eagerly  asked  the  news  from  Nor- 
folk— whether  the  British  had  attacked  and  taken  it  ?  whether 
they  had  murdured  everybody,  and  burned  the  houses  ?  whether 
they  were  on  the  march  into  the  interior,  and  might  be  soon  ex- 
pected in  their  town  ?  with  similar  questions  expressive  of  their 
anxieties  and  fears. 

To  these  Captain  Brown  made  answer  by  invoking  the  usual 
benediction  on  his  eyes,  and  begging  the  gentlemen  to  know  "  he 
had  more  important  business  in  the  world  than  to  concern  himself 
about  the  doings  of  sodgers  and  milishymen,  because  why,  their 
business  was  to  knock  one  another  on  the  head,  while  his  was  to 
relieve  the  distresses  of  mankind."  "  However,"  quoth  he,  benev- 
olently, "  as  I  see  you  are  curious  on  the  subject,  I  may  as  well  in- 
form you  that  the  milishymen  have,  this  time,  won  the  vic- 
tory, saved  Norfolk,  licked  the  enemy,  and  driven  them  clear  out 
of  the  land. 

At  this,  there  was  great  rejoicing  among  the  villagers,  who  gave 
three  cheers  for  "  Old  Vawginnee  and  Uncle  Sam,"  followed  by  a 
tremendous  shaking  of  hands,  each  of  the  happy  republicans  cross- 
ing palms  with  the  bearer  of  good  news,  and  insisting  upon  treat- 
ing him  to  something  to  drink  ;  while  even  mine  host,  who  was  a 


KOBIN    DAY.  197 

vinegar-faced  man  with  a  hole  in  his  hat,  awoke  to  love  and  mu- 
nificence and  swore,  "  stranger  should  have  meat,  drink  and 
lodging  for  himself  and  his  hoss  into  the  bawgain,  and  he 
wouldn't  take  one  fo'pence  ha'penny  for  it,  or  his  name  warn't 
John  Turnpenny." 

So  into  the  bar-room,  nothing  loth,  went  Captain  Brown,  to  en- 
joy the  reward  of  his  happy  tidings ;  and  I,  having  received  no 
hint  to  the  contrary,  followed  also  into  the  room,  where  my  pres- 
ence attracted  the  regards  and  excited  the  surprise  of  one  of  the 
party,  who  horrified  me  by  demanding  of  Captain  Brown — "I  say, 
stranger,  by  Jehosophat,  what  kind  ©f  nigger  do  you  call  that  ? 
and  where  did  you  come  by  him  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  Captain  Brown  with  gravity,  after  despatching  the 
first  glass  of  the  juice  of  the  maize  put  into  his  hand,  and  ex- 
tending his  hand  for  another,  "  he  ain't  exactly  a  nigger,  hang 
me,  but  a  blackey  of  the  East  Injun  breed,  and  such  a  piece  of 
man's  flesh,  as,  I  reckon  was  never  before  seen  in  these  parts, 
and  will  never  be  seen  again.  You've  heard  tell  of  the  Magi 
breed  ? — them  great  wise  fellers  in  the  Injies,  that  knows  all 
things — can  eat  fire,  chaw  swords,  find  money,  read  the  stars,  raise 
the  devil,  cure  the  consumption  and  draw  rum  out  of  a  beer-barrel. 
Well,  shiver  my  timbers,  he's  a  Magi !" 

"  Lord  bless  us,  you  don't  say  so  !  "  quoth  the  landlord,  eyeing 
me,  as  all  the  rest  now  did,  with  wonder  and  admiration — "  draw 
rum  out  of  a  beer  barrel  ?  Raise  the  devil !  How  did  you  come 
by  him?" 

"  Bought  him,  if  you  must  know,  my  hearty,"  said  Captain 
Brown,  "  of  the  King  of  the  Injies,  for  ten  half -joes,  two  hunks 
of  tobacco  and  a  jack-knife  ;  and  then  had  to  kidnap  him  away  ; 
for  these  Magi  fellers,  dy'e  see,  ain't  to  be  had  every  day,  and 
the  King  he  rued  his  bargain." 

"  Draw  rum  out  of  a  beer  barrel !  "  again  ejaculated  mine  host, 
to  whom  this  faculty  appeared  most  surprising  and  enviable,  "  per- 
haps he  can  draw  good  French  brandy  out  of  a  cider  cask,  hah  ? 
I  say,  boy,  hah  !  can  you  do  that  f  "  he  added,  addressing  himself 
to  me  ;  who,  astounded  and  indignant  at  being  mistaken  for  a 
scion  of  the  Ethiopian  race,  and  petrified  at  the  impudence  and 
audacity  of  my  comrade,  was  now  afraid  that  the  attention  he  had 
drawn  upon  me,  and  the  incredible  account  he  gave  of  my  quali- 
ties, might  eventuate  in  suspicion  and  danger.  But  Captain  Brown 


198  ADVENTURES    OF 

stepped  immediately  to  the  rescue — that  as  soon  as  he  had  dis- 
patched a  second  glass  of  liquor. 

"  Harkee,  shipmate,"  said  he  to  Mr.  John  Turnpenny  ;  "  you 
might  as  well  preach  a  Dutch  sermon  to  a  ship's* figurehead  as  ask 
any  of  your  palavering'  questions  of  that  young  whelp  of  a 
Magi ;  because  how,  he  don't  understand  English.  And  as  for 
drawing  rum  out  of  a  beer  barrel,  raising  the  devil,  and  so  on, 
why  I  will  just  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you,  d'ye  see,  he  don't 
do  no  such  tricks,  because  Tiow,  I  bought  him  young,  before  he 
had  finished  that  part  of  his  education.  No,  in  all  them  things 
he  is  no  better  nor  wiser  than  any  other  jackanapes.  But  what  I 
bought  him  for  was  for  the  good  of  human  natur',  whereof  he 
knows  things  enough  to  make  your  hair  stand  on  end.  Look  at 
him  !  There's  the  boy — Chowder-Chow  they  call  him  in  the  In- 
jies — who  is  the  seventh  son  of  his  father,  which  was  the  seventh 
son  of  his  grandfather,  and  the  greatest  doctor  in  all  the  Injies, 
and  cured  the  king's  wife  of  the  cholery,  after  she  had  been 
lying  dead  three  days  in  her  coffin  ;  and  Chowder-Chow  here, 
for  all  his  being  so  young  and  looking  so  like  a  jackass,  is  just 
as  great  a  cure  as  his  father." 

"Can  he  cure  the  aguy?"  cried  an  indigo  colored  personage, 
who,  with  his  hands  buried  in  his  trowsers  pockets,  his  head 
sunk  on  his  breast  and  otherwise  looking  very  chilly  and  dis- 
consolate, now  stared  at  me  with  solemn  eagerness,  and  a  doleful 
yawn  in  the  face. 

"  Can  he  cure  the  aguy  ?"  repeated  Captain  Brown  with  dis- 
dain, "  aguy  and  bilious  cholery,  and  the  small-pox,  consumption, 
happyplexy,  sore  eyes  and  stich  in  the  side,  lock-jaw  and  the 
falling-sickness,  liver  complaint  and  the  horrors,  rheumatiz,  tooth- 
ache, and  water  in  the  brain — every  unfortunate  disease  you  ever 
heard  of  ;  besides  all  the  ills  of  horses,  cows,  sheep,  dogs,  asses, 
pigs  and  niggers — what  is  he  the  seventh  son  of  a  seventh  son, 
which  was  an  Injun  Maji  for,  if  he  can't  cure  the  whole  of  'em 
just  as  easy  as  look  at  'em  ?  " 

"  Because,"  said  the  blue-visaged  man,  his  visage  growing  still 
bluer,  "  I  have  a  touch  of  the  complaint,  which  has  been  hang- 
ing about  me,  on  and  off,  I  reckon  now  for  about  seven  years,  and 
I  fancy  I  am  about  having  a  shake  of  it  right  off  now,  be- 
cause my  nose  is  as  cold  as  a  dog's,  and  it  is  coming  on  to  the 
time,  which  is  about  early  candle-light.  And  if  so  be  as  how 


ROBIN    DAY.  199 

this   Injun   doctor    can    cure    me,  why,  I'll    pay    him    for    his 
trouble,  that's  all." 

And  to  prove  that  the  poor  fellow  was  not  mistaken  in  his 
reckoning,  his  speech  was  ended  by  a  sudden  snap  of  the  teeth, 
which  was  followed  by  another,  and  another,  until  presently  there 
was  such  a  chattering  and  clattering  of  his  jaws  as  might 
have  moved  an  alligator  to  surprise  and  envy, 

"  Can  he  cure  a  weakness  in  the  small  of  the  back,  with  a  pain 
in  the  inwards  ?"  quoth  the  landlord  Turnpenny,  "  Can  he  cure 
a  misery  in  the  tooth  ?"  demanded  another.  "  Can  he  do  anything 
at  a  weak  stomach,  and  the  hopthalmy  in  the  eyes  ?"  cried  a  third, 
and  presently  there  was  not  a  man  of  them  that  was  not  busy  re- 
counting his  bodily  infirmities,  and  inquiring  my  abilities  to  re- 
move them. 

Captain  Brown  was  not  satisfied  with  replying  boldly  in  the 
affirmative  ;  he  assured  them  my  powers  were  so  wonderfully 
great  that  I  could  remove  half  the  diseases  of  the  world  merely 
by  looking  at  them  ;  and,  for  the  other  half,  I  required  only  two 
remedies,  each  of  such  peculiar,  yet  incompatible  virtues,  that, 
although  either  was  a  perfect  specific  for  all  the  diseases  to  which 
it  was  applicable,  it  was  certain  death  if  administered  to  the  mal- 
adies requiring  the  use  of  the  other. 

"  And,"  said  he,  with  a  great  oath,  "  here's  the  wonder  of  the 
thing ;  for,  whereas  you  might  think  that  with  two  such  drugs, 
you,  or  I,  or  any  body  else,  might  go  into  the  world  and  spoil  the 
regular  doctors'  business,  you  would  think,  axing  your  pardon  for 
saying  so,  like  so  many  jackasses ;  because  how,  we  should  never 
know  which  of  them  to  give,  and  if  we  gave  the  wrong  one,  we 
should  send  your  sick  man  to  Davy  Jones  in  no  time  no,  I'll  be 
hang'd,  none  but  a  Magi  knows  that.  Now,"  said  he,  turning  to 
the  shivering  subject  of  ague,  and  producing  his  wondrous  medi- 
cines— viz.,  the  tobacco  boluses  and  the  paper  of  sand  ;  "  here  I 
have  the  great  cure-alls,  split  me,  the  holy  medicines  of  the  Magies, 
one  in  one  hand  and  t'other  in  the  t'other ;  and  I  knows  one  of 
them  will  cure  you,  d'ye  see,  the  other  kill  you  ;  and  that's  all  I 
knows,  or  you  knows,  or  anybody  else  knows ;  and  if  you  want  to 
try  your  own  luck  at  'em,  here's  at  your  sarvice — you  may  have 
a  trial  all  for  nothing ;  I  allows  all  people  to  do  that^  for  the 
good  of  human  natur'.  But,"  he  added,  "  if  you  axes  the  Magi 
to  tell  you  the  true  one  that  will  cure  you,  why,  then,  here's  the 


200  ADVENTURES     OF 

case,  shiver  me,  all  in  short — out  with  your  rhino  ;  for  that's  not 
a  thing  to  be  done  free  gratis  for  nothing." 

Fever-and-ague  recoiled  from  the  perilous  choice,  so  charitably 
offered  him,  and  fell  to  fumbling,  as  well  as  the  "shakes"  would 
permit,  in  his  pocket  for  the  means  of  engaging  the  services  of 
the  young  Magi  ;  while  the  others,  gazing  with  reverent  curiosity 
on  the  magical  drugs,  begged  to  know  "  their  names  and  naturs, 
if  it  was  axing  a  fair  question." 

"  Fair  enough,"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  with  conscious  dignity; 
*'  I  am  not  one  of  them  ignoramus  quacks  that  makes  a  secret  of 
their  kill-dog  stuffs,  which  does  no  good,  except  to  kill  off  jack- 
asses, whereof  there  is  too  many  in  the  world  ;  because  as  how, 
if  they  tell  the  secret,  any  body  may  lay  hold  of  the  same  non- 
sensical trash,  and  set  up  a  quacking  in  opposition.  But  there  is 
no  fear  of  that  with  me;  because  as  how,  if  any  body  gits  the 
medicines,  he  can't  use'  em,  d'ye  see,  without  a  Magi  to  help  him; 
and,  secondly,  he  can't  get  them,  without  he  sails  all  the  way  to 
the  Injies,  and  then  buys  them  of  the  Magies.  These  here," 
quoth  he,  extending  a  handful  of  boluses,  "  is  them  rare  and 
precious  things,  Mermaids'  Eggs,  fished  up  by  the  pearl  divers 
from  the  pearl  banks  of  the  Injun  Ocean." 

"  Lord  bless  us  !  "  quoth  Mr.  Turnpenny  ;  "  do  mermaids  lay 
eggs  ?  I  thought  they  was  half  fish  and  half  woman  !  " 

"  And  so  they  are,"  quoth  Captain  Brown  ;  "  but  they  lay  eggs 
notwithstanding.  I  harpooned  one,  off  the  coast  of  Coromandel ; 
and  I'll  be  hang'd  if  she  wasn't  as  full  of  eggs  as  a  tortoise,  and, 
split  me  for  a  ninny,  (because  as  how,  I  didn't  then  know  of  their 
virtues),  I  had  'em  all  cooked  in  a  mess,  and  the  sailors  eat  'em 
for  dinner  ;  but  the  carcass  we  threw  overboard,  because  as  how, 
it  was  too  human  looking  for  eating." 

Here  Captain  Brown  had  very  nearly  forgotten  himself,  as  was 
proved  by  one  of  the  men  present  asking  "  what  were  the  medical 
effects  of  this  extraordinary  dinner  upon  his  crew  ?  "  to  which, 
however,  he  immediately  replied,  that  the  effects  were  in  the  main, 
bad  enough,  as  they  killed  twenty-seven  men,  out  of  thirty  that 
eat  of  them  ;  though  they  cured  him  of  a  terrible  Bengal  fever, 
that  then  possessed  him,  and  that  so  thoroughly  that  he  had  never 
been  sick  since,  and  never  again  expected  to  be — "because  how, 
it  was  the  virtue  of  these  Magi  medicines,  that,  when  they  cured  a 
man  of  any  disease,  no  matter  what  it  might  be,  he  was  never  sick 


ROBIN     DAY.  201 

afterwards  of  any  malady  whatever,  and  always  died  of  mere  old 

age." 

"  And  this  here  stuff  that's  in  the  paper,"  quoth  Captain  Brown, 

•displaying  the  second  treasure. 

"  Lord  bless  us,"  said  Mr.  Turnpenny,  "  it  looks  for  all  the 
world  like  common  sand  !  " 

"  And  so  it  is,"  said  the  voyager,  "  but  such  sand  as  you,  nor  any 
other  man,  never  before  saw  in  America.  It  is  that  wonderful  sand, 
more  precious  than  gold  or  silver,  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges." 

"  Lord  bless  us  !  "  ejaculated  Mr.  Turnpenny. 

"  It  comes  from  the  holy  places  in  the  mountains,  where  the 
river  comes  out  of  a  rock,  and  where  none  but  the  Magies  goes," 
said  Captain  Brown  ;  "  and  it  has  such  a  wonderful  power,  that  if 
you  throw  one  single  grain  of  it  into  a  pine-wood  fire,  it  will  blow 
the  house  up  ;  and  where  you  give  it  in  the  wrong  cases,  and  the 
man  swallows  it,  he  falls  to  pieces  like  au  unhooped  hogshead. 
And  to  tell  you  the  honest  truth,  d'ye  see,"  he  added,  "  it  is  not 
safe  to  swallow  it  in  any  case :  the  true  way  to  take  it  is  to  put  it 
into  a  bottle  of  water  and  shake  it,  and  then  smell  at  the  bottle 
when  you  get  up  in  the  morning,  seven  days  fasting." 

By  this  time,  fever-and-ague  had  collected  all  the  small  coin  in  his 
pocket,  which  he  proposed  to  exchange  for  a  dose  of  the  wondrous 
physic,  provided  the  Magi  Chowder  Chow  should  select  it,  and 
provided  also  Chowder  Chow's  master  should  warrant  him  against 
all  danger,  and  guarrantee  a  perfect  cure  into  the  bargain.  Cap- 
tain Brown  deposited  the  money  in  his  pocket,  after  swearing  that 
he  had  never  before  taken  so  small  a  sum  for  such  valuable  physic, 
no,  not  he  ;  but  that  "  something  was  better  than  nothing,  split 
him,  and  he  would  go  a  great  way  for  the  good  of  human  na- 
tur '  ; "  and  then  bade  them  observe  in  how  wonderful  a  manner 
Chowder  Chow  would  proceed  in  deciding  upon  his  case,  and  its 
proper  specific. 

"  You  see  him,  there  he  stands,"  quoth  the  villian,  "  and  knows 
no  more  of  our  lingo  than  I  do  of  a  cat's  conscience  or  a  monkey's 
mathematics.  Well  now,  mayhap,  you  may  think  he  will  have  to 
ask  a  whole  heap  of  questions,  and  I  to  answer  them,  in  his  lingo, 
for  this  here  gentleman  that  is  a  shaking  like  a  shutter  in  a  high 
wind,  as  to  the  state  of  his  inwards,  and  all  that,  like  a  common 
physicianer  ;  which  is  all  nonsense,  d'ye  see  ;  because  why,  a  Magi 
looks  into  a  man's  face  and  sees  through  him,  and  knows  all  about 


202  ADVENTURES    OF 

him,  inside  and  out  ;  and  where  then's  the  use  of  asking  ques- 
tions ?  I  shall  just  put  the  poor  devil — which  is  to  say,  begging  his 
pardon,  the  poor  gentleman — before  his  eyes,  and  you'll  see  what 
will  come  of  it." 

With  that,  he  took  the  shiverer  by  the  shoulder,  and  placed  him 
Kefore  me,  saying,  "  Well  now,  Chowder  Chow,  my  hearty,  what 
do  you  think  of  the  poor  man,  and  what  is  to  be  done  with  him  ?" 

Chowder  Chow,  in  spite  of  the  reluctance  he  felt  at  being  made 
a  party  to  a  fraud  so  impudent  and  yet  so  ridiculous,  felt,  never- 
theless, the  necessity  of  acting  up  to  the  character  he  had  assumed; 
and,  taking  the  hint  from  the  words  of  his  master,  of  which  he 
was  supposed  to  understand  not  a  syllable,  and  from  instructions 
previously  given,  he  stared  in  the  man's  face  with  as  much  cour- 
age as  he  could  muster,  backed  by  a  suitable  proportion  of  solemn- 
ity, and  "  Holly-y  oily -wow  /"  he  muttered. 

"  Ah,  indeed  !"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  turning  with  admiration 
to  the  expectant  company — "  there  you  see  the  use  of  having  a 
Magi  :  for  shiver  me,  if  I  didn't  think,  from  my  own  numskull 
notions,  that  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges  was  the  very  thing  to 
cure  the  gentleman  of  his  aguy  ;  whereas  Chowder  Chow  says, 
says  he,  '  The  man  has  got  the  f ever-and-aguy,  and  has  had  it  for 
seven  years,  and  it  has  turned  his  liver  into  milk  and  molasses  : — 
give  him  a  Mermaid's  egg,  and  wash  it  down  with  half  a  pint  of 
whiskey.'" 

"  Lord  bless  us  !"  said  the  landlord  ;  and  "  By  Jehoshaphat  ?" 
said  the  others,  expressing  their  wonder  and  admiration.  One  of 
them,  however,  looked  a  little  perplexed,  and  repeating  the  word 
— "  Holly -golly -wow"  asked  how  it  was  possible  it  could  express  so 
much  as  honest  Brown  had  rendered  as  its  meaning.  To  this 
Brown  replied,  "  the  Magi  lingo  was  a  short-hand  language,  which 
crammed  a  barrel  of  notions  into  a  pint  of  words,  and  was  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  learn,  it  was,  split  him."  Then,  having  thus 
ingeniously  satisfied  the  doubter,  he  made  the  sick  man,  to  my 
horror,  swallow  one  of  the  hugest  of  the  boluses,  and  immediately 
after  wash  it  down  with  an  immoderate  glass  of  whiskey. 

He  then  turned  to  mine  host  Turnpenny,  who  was  eager  upon 
Brown's  offering,  "out  of  respect  to  the  house,"  as  he  said,  to 
physic  him  for  nothing,  to  have  the  great  Magi  at  work  upon  his 
weakness  in  the  small  of  the  back,  and  pain  of  the  inwards  ;  and 
Brown  having  brought  him  before  me  accordingly,  I  was  about  to 


I. 
ROBIN   DAY.  203 

deliver  another  oraculous  opinion,  when  the  bolus  we  had  admin- 
istered to  the  ague  patient,  being,  I  suppose,  at  length  dissolved 
by  the  whiskey,  produced  such  a  sudden  and  tremendous  effect 
upon  his  inwards,  as  to  discompose  the  company,  and  interrupt 
my  Magian  proceedings.  The  poor  man  turned  from  blue  to  pale, 
gave  a  hidious  gasp,  clapped  his  hands  upon  his  epigastrium,  arch- 
ing his  back  up,  like  a  frenzied  cat,  and  then,  with  a  yell  of 
astonishment  and  distress,  he  rushed  from  the  room  into  the 
porch,  where  his  rebellious  digester  discarded  the  Magian  medi- 
cine ;  but  not  without  such  throes  of  anguish  and  convulsions  of 
nausea,  as  left  the  poor  fellow,  when  the  operation  ceased,  more 
dead  than  alive. 

I  was  very  much  frightened  when  they  brought  him  in,  and  so, 
indeed,  was  everybody  else,  except  Brown,  who  grinned,  declared 
all  was  right,  and  ended  the  scene  by  ordering  them  to  give  him 
another  glass  of  whiskey,  and  carry  him  to  bed,  which  was  imme- 
diately done. 

This  calamitous  termination  of  the  first  miracle  of  Chowder 
Chow,  the  Magus,  (or  Magi,  as  Captain  Brown  would  have  it)  cast 
a  discredit,  at  least  for  a  time,  over  the  Mermaid's  Eggs,  and  the 
company  no  longer  showed  an  inclination  to  be  physiced.  Even 
Turnpenny,  upon  being  appealed  to,  to  resume  his  station  before 
the  dispenser  of  panaceas,  excused  himself,  giving  a  reason  that 
supper  was  now  ready,  and  he  could  not  think  of  losing  so  great  a 
luxury,  which,  it  was  evident,  he  must  do,  if  the  Magian  medicines 
produced  so  strong  an  effect  upon  him  as  they  had  done  on  his 
aguish  neighbor. 

The  word  supper  was  music  to  my  ears,  and  quite  banished  the 
fears  I  had  felt  as  to  the  ulterior  effects  of  the  bolus,  and  while 
dispatching  it,  which  I  was  obliged  to  do  at  a  side  table,  (for,  as  a 
slave,  which  my  audacious  friend  had  represented  to  me  to  be,  no 
one  thought  me  a  suitable  companion  at  the  table,  while  my  Ma- 
gian character  fortunately  preserved  me  from  the  ignominy  of  the 
kitchen),  I  resolved  to  bear  the  ills  and  degradation  of  my  present 
state,  as  long  as  circumstances  made  it  necessary,  with  as  much  as 
resignation  and  philosophy  as  I  could. 


204  ADVENTUKES    OF 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

The   Mermaid^  Eggs  effect  a    'miraculous   cure,   and  Chowder- 
Chow  rises  in  reputation. 

WHEN  the  supper  was  over,  Turnpenny,  with  some  others,  went 
up  stairs  to  visit  the  victim  of  the  bolus,  whom,  wonderful  to  be 
said,  they  found  relieved  of  his  ague,  and,  according  to  his  own 
account,  as  well  as  ever  he  was — better,  indeed,  as  he  said,  than  he 
ever  remembered  to  have  felt  before  in  his  life,  and  desirous  to 
know  the  great  doctor's  will,  whether  he  might  not  get  up  to  en- 
joy the  company,  or,  at  least,  have  another  glass  of  whiskey  to 
recompense  the  pains  of  solitude. 

This  wonderful  cure,  which  I  suppose  was  owing  to  the  tremen1- 
dous  shock  of  the  bolus  upon  the  martyr's  whole  system,  produced 
the  effect  that  might  have  been  expected  upon  Turnpenny  and  his 
friends,  especially  as  Captain  Brown  declared  the  man  would 
never  be  sick  again  as  long  as  he  lived;  and  their  eagerness  was  re- 
newed to  have  the  extraordinary  Chowder  Chow  administer  to 
their  various  ailments. 

Turnpenny  again  offered  himself  to  my  inspection,  though  it 
must  be  confessed  his  resolution  faltered  a  little  at  the  moment, 
and  he  assured  Captain  Brown,  "if  it  was  all  one  to  him  and  to 
the  Doctor,  he  would  rather  prefer  having  a  dose  of  the  Holy 
Sand  of  the  Ganges  to  smell  at  than  a  Mermaid's  egg  to  swallow, 
because  his  stomach  was  naturally  a  tender  one,  and,  he  was 
sure,  any  violent  attack  upon  it  would  be  the  death  of  him." 
Captain  Brown  averred  upon  his  honor  that  his  Magi  medicines, 
administered  by  the  Magi,  never  were  the  death  of  any  body;  and 
comforted  him  with  the  assurance  that,  if  severely  handled  by 
them,  he  might  be  sure  he  had  been  desperately  in  need  of  their 
assistance,  "because  as  how,"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  with  ex- 
haustless  ingenuity,  or  impudence,  "the  way  these  Magi  medicines 
cures  a  disease  is  by  fighting  it  out  of  a  man's  body — it  is  pull 
dick,  pull  devil  between  them ;  when  the  disease  is  strong  the  light 


ROBIN    DAY.  205 

is  strong,  but  when  it  is  small  matter,  why  the  fight  is  a  small 
matter;  and  that's  exactly  the  way  of  it." 

Then,  turning  to  me,  he  said,  "  Well,  Chowder  Chow,  my  lad, 
Polly -wolly -smash  f  "  which  he  interpreted  to  the  company  as 
meaning,  "  What  is  to  be  done  with  the  landlord  ?  " 

Fortunately  for  this  anxious  worthy,  his  doctor  was  as  desirous 
as  himself  that  his  medicine  should  be  of  the  mildest  character  ; 
I  had  no  inclination  to  bring  him  within  an  ace  of  his  life,  for  the 
sake  of  removing  a  weakness  in  the  back  and  a  pain  in  the  in- 
wards. I,  therefore,  after  giving  him  the  wisest  look  I  could  sum- 
mon to  my  assistance,  pronounced  the  magical  "  Sammy -ram-ram" 
which,  I  justly  inferred,  would  condemn  him  only  to  a  dose  of  the 
Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges.  Captain  Brown  picked,  with  the  ut- 
most care  and  circumspection,  a  single  grain  from  his  paper,  and 
presented  it  to  Mr.  Turnpenny.  "Put  this,"  said  he,  "  into  a  bot- 
tle, and  fill  it  up  with  water; "  which  being  immediately  done,  he 
bade  Turnpenny  smell  it  seven  times,  and  then  asked,  "  if  he  did 
not  feel  much  stronger  in  the  back  and  easier  in  the  inwards  ?  " 

"  Well,"  returned  mine  host,  with  a  look  of  wonder,  "  I  don't 
know  but  I  do.  But,  I  declar',  it  has  the  most  powerful  smell  I 
ever  did  smell !  " 

"Has  it?"  quoth  Captain  Brown;  "that  is  a  sign,  then,  that 
there  is  a  powerful  strength  in  the  weakness  of  your  back,  and  the 
Holy  Sand  is  taking  a  powerful  pull  at  it.  But  this  is  nothing  to 
the  good  it  will  do  you,  when  you  smell  it  in  the  morning,  which 
you  must  do,  fasting,  seven  times,  and  for  seven  days  running  ; 
when,  if  you  ain't  clear  of  all  ailments  forever  and  a  day  after,  I 
give  you  leave  to  eat  me,  that's  all.  But,  I  say,  shipmate,"  he 
added,  solemnly,  "  take  care  you  don't  let  that  grain  of  sand,  by 
any  mischance,  get  too  near  a  pine-wood  fire,  or  sky-high  goes 
the  house  to  Davy  Jones  in  a  twinkling." 

The  landlord  vowed  he  would  take  great  care  to  avoid  such  a 
misfortune ;  and  Captain  Brown  turned  him  to  the  others,  all  of 
whom,  in  turn,  now  applied  to  Chowder  Chow  for  relief.  Nay, 
business  thickened  on  my  hands.  Turnpenny  brought  in  his  wife 
and  children  to  be  prescribed  for,  an  example  that  was  followed  by 
two  o'thers  present,  being  the  blacksmith  and  shopkeeper  of  the 
hamlet,  who  went  out  for  their  families  to  have  them  doctored  ; 
not  because  they  were  sick  and  wanted  doctoring,  but  because 
Captain  Brown,  in  the  plentitude  of  his  impudence,  assured  them 


206  ADVEXTUKES    OF 

that  the  Magi  medicines,  administered,  according  to  the  constitu- 
tion (and  it  was  the  peculiarity  of  constitution,  he  swore,  and  not 
of  disease,  that  indicated  the  medicine),  to  people  in  good  health, 
were  sufficient  to  prevent  the  takers  ever  being  sick  of  any  disease 
in  their  lives. 

From  all  these  happy  people,  for  whom  I  took  care  to  order 
nothing  but  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges — or  from  as  many  of 
them  as  had  any  money — the  brazen  fellew  exacted  a  reward,  be- 
ing every  penny  he  could  get;  so  that,  when  the  entertainments 
of  the  evening  were  over,  and  we  retired  to  bed,  he  swore  he  had 
pocketed  at  least  five  or  six  dollars.  I  told  him  "  the  money  was 
not  acquired  honestly;"  to  which  he  replied, that  "he  had  often 
heard  of  money  being  acquired  honestly,  but  had  never  yet  seen 
a  case  of  it ;  and  all  the  honest  people  he  ever  knew  were  as  poor 
as  King  David's  goslings,  and  expected  to  remain  so." 

I  would  have  argued  with  him  upon  the  knavery  of  our  pro- 
ceeding; but  I  saw  argument  was  all  wasted  upon  a  man  who 
seemed  actually  to  think  that  cozening  and  swindling  were  excel- 
lent pastime — the  finest  thing  in  the  world — or,  as  he  called  it,  "  as 
good  as  a  glass  of  grog."  But  I  gave  him  warning,  it  was  against 
my  conscience  to  persist  in  such  deception,  and  that  I  would  aban- 
don the  Magian  vocation  as  soon  as  I  found  myself  beyond  the 
reach  of  pursuers  and  courts  martial. 

This  protest  I  made  in  the  chamber  assigned  to  the  honest  Cap- 
tain ;  in  which  was  spread  upon  the  floor  a  bundle  of  straw,  a  bed 
scarce  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  an  East  India  doctor,  but  fit 
enough  for  the  favored  bondman  of  a  traveler.  Upon  this  score 
of  bondage,  too,  I  had  some  indignation  to  express;  for  I  saw  no 
reason  why  he  should  represent  me  in  so  degrading  a  light  as  his 
slave.  "Oh,"  said  he,  "it  is  your  only  safety;  who  will  think  of 
court-martialing  a  slave  for  high  treason  ?  "  With  that  he  be- 
stowed a  profane  benediction  on  my  eyes,  and  closed  his  own,  be- 
ing in  a  moment  sound  asleep;  and  I,  being  weary  and  heavy 
enough,  was  glad  to  follow  his  example. 


KOBIN    DAY.  207 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

The  progress  of  Chowder   Chow  and  his   master  continued. 

WE  arose  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  to  resume  our  journey, 
but  not  until  Captain  Brown,  from  an  impulse  of  friendship,  had 
bought  of  our  host,  for  my  use,  a  sorry  nag,  with  saddle  and  bri- 
dle; for  which,  as  he  told  me  afterwards  with  great  delight,  he 
had  paid  in  counterfeit  money,  being  some  of  the  remaining  portion 
of  the  notes  he  had  got  for  Bay  Tom.  This  grieved  and  discon- 
certed me  greatly ;  but  I  was  not  informed  of  it  until  it  was  too 
late  to  make  restitution. 

I  discovered,  during  the  previous  evening,  from  some  expressions 
of  honest  Turnpenny,  that  his  little  hamlet  was  in  possession  of  a 
post-office,  at  which  mails  were  received  once  a  week;  and  that 
the  dignity  of  postmaster,  along  with  that  of  publican,  centered  in 
his  honored  person. 

This  recalled  to  my  memory  the  letter  I  had  written,  and  still 
carried  about  me,  while  in  the  Jumping  Jenny,  to  Dr.  Howard, 
informing  him  of  my  misfortunes  and  captivity,  of  the  extraordi- 
nary and  most  happy  discovery  I  had  made  of  his  son  Tommy,  and 
of  my  intention  to  effect  for  him  and  myself  a  speedy  escape  from 
the  hands  of  the  invaders.  I  sighed  to  think  how  I  had  been  baf- 
fled in  regard  to  Tommy,  who  was  still  a  prisoner;  but  I  felt  the 
necessity  of  informing  my  patron  of  the  discovery  without  further 
delay.  For  this  purpose,  I  determined  to  sieze  the  present  oppor- 
tunity of  committing  my  letter  to  the  post ;  and  I  designed,  in  the 
morning,  to  add  an  envelope,  in  which  to  acquaint  him  with  my 
having  escaped  alone,  and  the  necessity  of  his  taking  some  steps 
to  effect  the  liberation  of  his  son. 

But  when  morning  came,  I  found  our  early  setting-out,  which 
Brown  declared  was  necessary  to  our  saf  ety,deprived  me  of  the  pow- 
er of  adding  anything  further  to  the  letter  ;  which  I  was,  therefore, 
enforced  to  send  as  it  was.  As  I  was  sensible  it  would  be  an  ob- 
liviously suspicious  step  for  me,  in  person,  to  hand  the  letter  to 


208  APVKXTl  HKS    OF 

Turnpenny,  I  was  obliged  to  request  Captain  Hrown's  good  otliees 
in  the  mutter  ;  aiul,  as  1  gave  it  to  him,  I  bogged  ho  would  not 
think  it  necessary  to  make  as  free  with  it  as  ho  had  done  with  my 
letter  of  introduction  ;  for  which  there  was  the  loss  reason,  as  there 
was  no  money  in  it.  Brown  laughed,  and  carried  the  letter  to 
Turnpenny  ;  but  I  took  eare  to  keep  my  eye  upon  him  notwith- 
standing. As  it  was  addressed  to  Dr.  Howard,  which  Turn- 
penny observed,  Brown  took  the  occasion,  and  such  an  occasion 
he  manifestly  never  could  resist,  to  tell  him  a  very  big  falsehood, 
namely,  that  it  was  a  letter  of  his  writing-to  a  very  great  and  rich 
doctor,  who  wanted  to  buy  the  secrets  of  the  Magi  ami  the  Magi 
himself  for  which  and  whom  ho  nad  offered  twenty  thousand  dollars 
in  hard  money  ;  but  which  Brown  had  refused,  "because  as  how  it 
was  not  half  the  value  of  the  articles.'* 

This  business  settled,  and  to  my  satisfaction,  for  I  saw  the  letter 
safely  deposited  in  a  trunk,  the  strong  box.  of  the  post-otliee,  we 
mounted  our  horses,  any  rode  forth  upon  our  adventures,  taking 
eare,  however,  for  very  obvious  reasons,  to  seek  them  upon  the  most 
retired  and  unfrequented  roads. 

We  stopped  to  dine  at  another  out-of-the-way  hamlet,  where  I 
was  compelled  a  second  time  to  assume  the  character  of  a  Magus, 
and  dispense  the  wonderful  drugs  of  the  K:ist  to  such  :is  were  will- 
ing to  be  administered  to  in  our  wonderful  way. 

As  I  had  my  reasons  for  preferring  the  Holy  Sand  of  thcliangee 
to  the  Mermaids'  Kggs,  I  took  eare,  when  the  first  patient  appeared 
before  me,  to  pronounce  the  Magian  Sammy-ram-ratn,  not  doubt- 
ing that  the  luck\  Mitl'erer  would  get  off  with  the  mildest  dose  of 
our  medicines.  I  nit  I  soon  found  that  I  had  reckoned  without  my 
host;  for  Captain  Urown,  who,  I  began  clearly  to  perceive,  was 
possessed  by  a  devil  of  mischief,  and  preferred  the  energetic  oper- 
ation of  theboluses  to  the  gentler  etYeets  of  the  Holy  Sand,  inter- 
preted, this  t\iin\&nntny-ratn-ramlo  mean  Mermaid's  Kggs  ;  and  a 
Mermaid's  Kgg  he  forthwith  administered  to  the  patient.  And,  in- 
deed on  all  fuutre  occasions,  whether  I  commenced  my  proceedings 
with  Sammy-ram-ram  or  Ilolly-t/olly-trotr,  he  was  sure  to  begin 
/i in  with  a  tobacco  bolus. 

Our  efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  in  this  way,  were  contin- 
ued for  rather  more  than  a  week,  and  might,  but  for  an  accident 
of  which  I  shall  presently  speak,  have  continued  much  longer,  as 
our  Magian  pretensions,  and  the  miraculous  cures  which,  it  seems. 


ROBIN    DAY. 

we  effected,  began  to  swell  the  trump  of  fame.  And,  I  believe,, 
we  might  have  made  our  fortunes,  too,  so  great  became  our  renown 
and  the  eagerness  of  our  patients,  had  we  not  unfortunately  com- 
menced operations  in  a  poor  and  but  thinly  settled  district,  where 
credulity  was  much  more  plentiful  than  money.  Nevertheless,  I 
inferred  from  what  Captain  Brown  said,  that  we  did  a  pretty  fair 
business. 

Another  inference  I  also  made,  namely,  that  of  all  the  modes  of 
swindling  mankind,  and  in  particular,  American  mankind,  yet 
devised,  drugging  them  with  quack  medicines  is  at  once  the  easi- 
est and  most  profitable;  and  this  opinion,  drawn  from  my  own 
youthful  experience  in  the  honorable  trade,  I  find  in  these  my  riper 
years,  confirmed  by  the  accounts  of  others,  and  especially  the 
accounts  daily  published  in  the  newspapers,  by  which  it  is  appa- 
rent that  the  quack  trade  has  arrived  at  a  pitch  of  stupendous  im- 
portance, and  bids  fair  to  become,  in  time,  the  great  business  of 
the  country. 

To  Captain  Brown  this  kind  of  life,  which  entirely  fulfilled  his 
ideas  of  an  honest  one,  presented  a  variety  of  charms  which  my 
conscience  did  not  permit  me  to  find  in  it.  To  gull  was  the  first 
of  his  delights,  and  the  more  impudent  the  cheat  the  better  ;  and 
as  to  the  consequences  of  his  roguery,  whether  serious  or  not, 
they  gave  him  not  the  least  concern.  His  only  regret,  as  constantly 
expressed,  was  that  my  obstinate  adherence  to  the  Holy  Sand  of 
the  Ganges  prevented  his  oftener  administering  the  Mermaids' 
Eggs,  which  he  had  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  doing,  as  well  as 
in  watching  their  lugubrious  effects  upon  the  visages  and  stomachs 
of  his  patients. 

Next  to  this  was  the  pleasure  he  took  in  stretching  the  credulity 
of  his  patrons  to  the  utmost.  He  was  not  even  content  with  ex- 
acting full  belief  in  the  extraordinary  pretensions  he  put  forth  in 
favor  of  his  medicines  ;  he  vowed  Chowder  Chow  could  cure  a 
patient  without  seeing  him,  nothing  more  being  necessary  than 
that  some  friend  should  step  forward  as  his  representative  and 
pronounce  his  name;  whereupon  Chowder  Chow  could,  and  would, 
immediately,  he  declared,  with  unerring  sagacity,  determine  the 
medicine  that  was  necessary  for  his  case  and  constitution  ;  which 
medicine  was  warranted  by  him  just  as  certainly  to  effect  a  cure  as 
if  administered  by  his  own  hands.  In  this  assumption,  in  truth, 
we  found  our  greatest  advantage  and  profit,  since,  as  we  never  tar- 


210  ADVENTURES     OF 

ried  at  any  one  place  longer  than  to  eat  or  sleep,  and  therefore 
did  not  wait  until  the  sick  and  ailing  could  be  brought  to  us  to 
be  physiced,  we  must  have  lost  a  great  many  patients,  had  we 
not  thus  possessed  the  power  of  physicing  them  at  a  distance. 

To  me,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  this  life  of  deception  and 
roguery  was  distressing  enough,  and  only  endured  for  a  time  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  self-preservation.  Every  day  increased  my 
longing  to  throw  off  the  humiliating  mask  of  the  merry-andrew 
which  I  was  compelled  to  wear,  and  with  it  the  friendship  and 
company  of  Captain  Brown,  whose  character  now  fully  exposed, 
his  wild,  graceless,  unprincipled,  devil-may-care  disposition,  I  knew 
not  whether  I  most  wondered  at  or  detested. 

Of  this  desire  I  did  not  scruple  to  make  him  acquainted  ;  but 
he  only  laughed,  and  asked  me  "  how  I  was  to  navigate  clear  of 
the  officers  of  justice,  if  I  lost  his  convoy  ?"  a  question  that  com- 
monly reduced  me  to  silence  and  submission.  Towards  the  end 
of  the  week,  however,  I  began  to  think »I  was  now  so  far  removed 
from  the  coast,  and  from  the  theatre  of  war — for  we  had  been 
journey  ing  west  ward  all  the  time — as  to  be  no  longer  in  danger  of 
a  court-martial  ;  and  one  fine  but  sultry  evening,  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river  Roanoke,  which  we  had  now  reached,  I  resolved 
that  that  should  be  the  last  day  of  my  humiliation. 

"  To-morrow,"  quoth  I  to  myself,  "  I  will  tell  Captain  Brown, 
or  Hellcat,  or  whatever  he  may  call  himself,  that  he  must,  in 
future,  be  his  own  Magus  ;  pronounce  the  absurd  Holly -golly -wow 
with  his  own  lips,  and  dispense  with  his  own  hands  (as  he  has, 
in  fact,  done  all  along,)  his  confounded  Mermaids'  Eggs,  and  the 
Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges." 


ROBIN    DAY.  211 


CHAPTER  XL. 

Another  miraculous  cure,  but  the  credit   of  which  Chowder  Chow 
is  willing  should  rest  with  Captain  Brown  entirely. 

As  these  resolutions  were  forming  in  my  mind,  we  perceived  of 
a  sudden,  in  a  cotton  field,  which  we  were  riding  by,  a  group  of 
men,  all  of  them  negroes,  except  one,  who  seemed  an  overseer, 
surrounding  a  fellow  laborer,  who  had  fallen  down  in  a  fit,  as  it 
afterwards  appeared  ;  though,  with  all  my  Magian  knowledge,  I 
had  not  the  least  notion  what  was  the  matter,  until  my  comrade 
d — d  his  eyes,  and  swore  there  "  was  meat  for  .our  market," 
meaning  that  there  was  a  case  proper  for  our  medicines.  With 
that  he  rode  into  the  field,  bidding  me  follow  him,  and  coming 
up  to  the  group,  demanded  of  the  overseer  what  was  the  matter. 

"  Oh,"  said  the  overseer,  with  a  drawling  voice,  "  it's  nothing — 
it's  only  a  gone  nigger  ;  fell  down  smack  with  the  happyplexy." 

"  Did  he  ?"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  with  an  oath  ;  "  then  here's 
just  the  lad,  the  great  East  Injun  Doctor,  that  can  cure  him." 

And  with  that,  he  cfescended  from  his  horse,  and  turned  the 
negro,  who  lay  terribly  snorting  on  his  face,  over  upon  his  back. 

"  Well !"  quoth  the  overseer,  turning  from  the  officious  stranger 
to  me,  whom  he  regarded  with  a  languid,  yawning  curiosity  ; 
while  the  negroes,  forgetting  their  comrade,  grinned  a  stupid 
amazement  in  my  face — "  Well,  I  did  hear  some  'un  say  some- 
thing of  the  East  Injun  Doctor  ;  but,  I  reckon,"  he  added,  looking 
round  again  to  Brown,  "he  can  do  nothing  for  the  boy  ;  because 
as  how,  he  is  done  for,  and  I  don't  allow  any  physic  can  touch  the 
happyplexy." 

"  Nor  I  neither,"  said  Brown,  "  except  the  Magi  physic  ;  which 
is  a  thing,  my  hearty,  whereof  you  knows  no  more  of  than  a  cat 
of  the  forte-piano.  But  you  shall  are,  shiver  my  timbers,  what 
Chowder  Chow  can  do ;  and  if  he  don't  cure  him,  why,  I'll  eat 
him,  that's  all.  You  shall  see  Chowder  Chow  look  through  his 
black  carcass  in  no  time." 


212  ADVENTURES    OF 

With  that,  he  turned  to  me,  saying,  "How  now,  Chowder 
QhQw—polly-wolly-smash  /"  which  he,  as  was  his  wont,  interpreted 
for  the  overseer's  benfit  to  mean,  "What  is  to  be  done  with  the 
man  !" 

I  was  amazed,  nay,  confounded,  at  the  audacity  of  Brown  in 
offering  my  services  in  a  case  so  desperate  ;  for  to  me  the  poor 
negro  seemed  at  the  very  last  gasp,  in  articulo  mortis,  as  the 
doctors  say  ;  and  it  was  with  a  faltering  voice,  and  rather  from 
the  associations  of  habit  than  any  operation  of  the  will,  that  I 
muttered  out  the  customary  "  Holly-golly-wow."  My  amazement 
was  increased  by  the  interpretation  Brown  immediately  gave  this 
phrase,  which  had  never  before  meant  any  thing  but  Mermaids' 
Eggs  or  the  Golden  Sand  of  the  Ganges  :  but  which  now,  he  de- 
clared, signified  nothing  less  than  that  the  overseer  should  use  the 
whip  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  apply  it  to  the  back  of  the  dying 
negro. 

"  Lash  a  feller  that's  dying  !"  ejaculated  the  overseer,  his  dull 
eyes  opening  with  astonishment,  perhaps  with  humane  indignation. 
"  No,  stranger,  I  don't  do  no  such  thing  as  that,  no  how." 

"  You  wont  ?"  quoth  Brown,  snatching  the  whip  from  his 
hand  ;  "  I'll  be  hang'd  if  I  don't,  then  ;  for,  d'ye  see,  when 
Chowder  Chow  says  whip,  he  means  whip,  and  no  mistake  about 
it." 

With  that,  he  fetched  the  poor  creature  a  terrible  thwack  over 
the  shins,  which  happend  to  be  bare,  and  with  an  effect  the  most 
astonishing  in  the  world.  The  legs,  that  seemed  stiffening  in  death, 
were  jerked  upwards  with  convulsive  vivacity  ;  the  snort  of  apo- 
plexy was  changed  to  a  yell  of  pain  ;  and  up  jumped  the  dying 
negro,  dancing  about  to  avoid  the  slashes  Brown  still  aimed  at  his 
shins,  and  lustily  roaring,  "  Lorra  gor,  Massy  !  all  cure  now  Massy  ! 
all  cure."  And  I  heard  him  add,  sotto  voce,  when  the  operation 
was  over,  "  dis  here  nigger  nebber  play  'possum  no  more  !" 

"Well  !"  ejaculated  the  overseer,  surveying  first  the  resuscitated 
negro,  (who  the  moment  Brown  ceased  to  castigate  him,  caught 
up  a  hoe,  and  began  to  annihilate  weeds  and  blue  grass  with 
astonishing  zeal  and  industry,)  then  Brown,  the  performer  of  the 
cure,  and,  lastly,  him,  the  sagacious  Chowder  Chow,  who  had  di- 
rected it — "  Well  now  !  I'm  hanged  if  I  ever  did  hear  of  troun- 
cing a  feller  out  of  the  happyplexy  !  I  say,  stranger,"  he  added, 
addressing  Brown,  "  do  you  cure  any  other  diseases  that  way  ?" 


ROBIN   DAY.  213 

"The  way,"  quoth  Brown,  "depends  upon  Chowder  Chow,  the 
Magi  doctor  ;  who  always  cures  every  ailing  exactly  the  right 
way,  and  never  misses,  because  how,  shipmate,  a  miss  isn't  in 
him. 

"It  aint  ?"  said  the  overseer,  giving  me  another  admiring  stare; 
"well,  then,  all  I  have  to  say  is,  if  that's  the  sort  of  short  work  he 
makes  upon  a  sick  man,  he  has  just  come  to  the  right  place,  here 
upon  this  plantation,  to  get  his  hands  full  of  business  ;  because 
we've  a  heap  of  hands  here  among  us,  and  this  here  Roanoke  air 
always  keeps  us  a  full  hospital." 

With  that  he  invited  us  to  follow  him  to  the  mansion  of  his 
employer,  who  lived  in  seclusion  upon  his  estate,  which  was  a  very 
great  and  valuable,  but  not  very  healthy  one,  and  would,  doubt- 
less, be  very  happy  to  engage  our  services,  as  well  as  reward  them 
handsomely.  To  this  proposal  Brown  immediately  consented,  and 
we  rode  to  the  house — much,  however,  against  my  secret  will  ;  for 
I  feared  lest  the  owner  of  the  estate  should  prove  a  man  of  edu- 
cation, intelligent  enough  to  penetrate  our  shallow  devices,  to 
laugh  at,  and  perhaps  to  punish  the  imposition. 


214  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

Chowder  Chow  performs,  as  he  hopes,  his  last  cure,  at  the  expense 
of  Mr.  Fabius  Maximus  Feverage. 

FORTUNATELY,  as  it  proved,  my  fears  were  in  this  case  groundless ; 
for  Mr.  Feverage  (which  the  overseer  told  us  was  the  proprietor's 
name,)  received  us  with  the  greatest  possible  respect;  and  upon 
being  told  the  miraculous  cure  we  had  wrought  upon  the  apoplectic 
slave,  which  the  overseer  did  his  best  to  make  still  more  miracu- 
lous, swore,  (for  Mr.  Feverage  though  a  rich  and  respectable  man, 
could  swear  too,  and  that  roundly,)  that  he  had  never  before 
heard,  or  read,  of  their  being  such  good  doctors  in  the  East  Indies, 
but  that  he  could  now  believe  it;  asked  if  I  cured  all  diseases,  like 
the  apoplexy,  instantaneously;  and  upon  Brown  replying  I  never 
required  more  than  seven  days  to  cure  the  most  desperate  diseases, 
said  I  was  "  a  wonderful  young  devil,"  demanded  what  were  the 
nature  of  my  remedies,  and  if  I  had  a  good  store  of  them;  and 
ended  by  desiring  to  carry  me  to  the  hospital,  or  sick  cabins,  where 
he  said,  he  had  some  twenty  or  thirty  hands  down  with  various 
diseases,  which  I  should  be  handsomely  rewarded  for  administer- 
ing to. 

To  this  last  proposal  Brown,  to  my  great  relief,  demurred,  say- 
ing he  had  traveled  all  day  and  was  tired  and  hungry  "  because 
how,  he  was  a  mortal  man,  and  so  was  Chowder  Chow,  although 
a  Magi;  and,  split  his  timbers,  the  niggers  might  wait  till  morn- 
ing;" to  which  proposition  Mr.  Feverage  very  politely  submitted, 
and  ordered  supper  to  be  brought  in. 

Upon  this,  Captain  Brown,  charmed  by  his  hospitality,  told  him, 
that  although  Chowder  Chow  was  too  weary  to  attend  to  the  ne- 
groes, he  would  not  object  to  his  giving  him  a  proof  of  his  skill  in 
his  own  person,  provided  he  had  any  ailing  he  wished  to  be  rid  of. 
Mr.  Feverage,  who  looked  to  me  the  picture  of  robust  health,  not- 
withstanding the  insalubrity  of  his  estate,  declared  "  he  had — he 
didn't  know  what  to  call  it — he  could  not  say  he  was  a  sick  man, 


ROBIN   DAY.  215 

but  he  believed  he  had,  and  had  had,  ever  since  last  fall,  when  he 
had  a  bilious  fever — he  would  not  call  it  a  pain  or  a  weakness,  or  a 
stiffness,  but  a  kind  of  coldness,  and  yet  it  wasn't  cold  neither — 
but  his  left  leg  wasn't  exactly  the  same  as  his  right  one." 

"Well,"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  "  that  may  be  a  small  matter  or 
a  great  one,  which  neither  of  us  knows  nothing  about,  but  Chow- 
der Chow  does,  and  if  you  stands  up  before  him,  and  looks  him 
straight  in  the  face,  he'll  tell  you  what  it  is  in  no  time." 

"  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Feverage,  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  know." 

And  up  he  jumped  before  me,  who,  perceiving  I  was  to  say 
something,  and  not  knowing  anything  better  to  say,  murmured  out 
a  modest  "  Holty-goUy-wow" 

"  How  !  you  don't  say  so  !"  quoth  Captain  Brown,  looking  very 
much  surprised,  or  pretending  to  be;  and,  immediately  turning  to 
Mr.  Feverage,  he  assured  him,  with  great  solemnity — that  is,  with 
one  of  his  choice  execrations,  which  not  even  the  presence  of  so 
respectable  a  gentleman  could  check — that  it  was  a  fortunate  thing 
he  had  consulted  the  wonderful  Chowder  Chow,  who  had  told  him 
that  "that  coldness,  or  stiffness,  or  weakness,  or  whatever  he 
thought  it,  was  nothing  less  than  the  beginning  of  a  palsy  in  his 
limb." 

"A  palsy  !  God  bless  me  !"  cried  Mr.  Feverage,  looking -prodig- 
iously alarmed  ;  "I  hope  not;  I  never  should  have  believed  it; 
I'm  not  that  sort  of  a  man  yet.  Yet,  I  remember,  I  had  an  uncle — 
that  is,  my  wife  had  an  uncle — who  died  of  palsy  ;  and  such  things 
run  in  a  family  !" 

"  Oh,"  said  Brown,  with  an  encouraging  air,  "  you  needn't  be 
frightened;  for,  if  you  had  all  the  palsies  in  the  world,  Chowder 
Chow  would  clear  them  out  of  you  in  less  time  than  I  could  empty 
a  glass  of  grog,  he  would,  split  me.  And  if  you  are  for  making  an 
end  of  the  matter,  before  it  goes  any  further " 

"  Oh,  yes,  by  all  means  !"  interrupted  Mr.  Feverage,  in  great 
agitation ;  "  I  remember  that  my  wife's  uncle  lost  all  the  use  of  one 
side ;  his  arm  dangled  and  his  leg  hung,  and  one  cheek  was  all  out 
of  shape,  and  his  mouth  awry.  I  wouldn't  look  so  for  the  world  ! 
And  if  the  doctor  can  prevent  it — 

"Prevent  it !"  quoth  Brown  with  an  air  of  pity;  "  if  he  don't, 
just  consider  me  bound  to  make  a  supper  of  him,  that's  all." 

With  that,  he  bade  the  gentleman  again  take  his  station  before 
me,  which  he  did,  and  I,  cursing  in  my  secret  thoughts  Brown's 


216  ADVENTURES    OF 

officiousness  in  procuring  a  patient,  when  I  could  have  done  so 
well  without  one,  was  obliged  to  pronounce  the  words  of  wisdom; 
and,  "  Sammy-ram-ram  "  concluded  my  part  in  the  exhibition. 

I  took  it  for  granted  that  Brown  would  be  content,  in  this  case, 
with  dispensing  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges,  our  patient  and 
host  being  a  man  of  too  much  consequence  and  dignity  to  be  con- 
demned to  the  infernal  boluses.  But  Brown's  audacity  was  not  of 
a  kind  to  be  subdued  by  the  rank  of  a  patron,  and  his  affection  for 
the  boluses  too  great  to  permit  the  loss  of  any  opportunity  to  use 
them.  A  Mermaid's  Egg,  therefore,  he  immediately  administered, 
and  with  such  effect,  that,  within  five  minutes,  Mr.  Feverage  grew 
deadly  sick,  and  gulped  and  retched  in  a  manner  doleful  to  be- 
hold. And  to  make  the  matter  worse.  Brown,  at  every  qualm, 
plied  him  with  questions,  "  how  his  leg  felt  ?  " — "  Was  not  the 
coldness  going  off?" — "Had  not  the  weakness  diminished?" — 
"  Was  not  the  pain  entirely  gone  ?  "  until  the  poor  gentleman, 
driven  to  phrenzy  by  the  pangs  of  his  stomach,  and  the  imperti- 
ence  of  his  physician,  burst  into  execrations,  d — d  his  leg,  the 
weakness,  the  pain,  and  the  coldness,  and  called  for  a  basin  to  pre- 
pare for  that  catastrophe  he  could  no  longer  doubt  was  coming, 
and  which  was,  indeed,  not  much  longer  deferred. 

In  this  way,  he  was,  at  length,  relieved  of  the  chief  part  of  his 
distresses  ;  and  the  remaining  qualms  were  conquered  by  a  glass 
or  two  of  cold  toddy  he  had  previously  ordered  to  be  mixed ;  af- 
ter which,  being  now  restored  to  that  happy  state  of  ease  he  had 
been  in  before,  he  fell  into  a  rapture,  and  vowed  "  I  was  a  wonder- 
ful doctor,  and  my  medicines  most  extraordinary — that  they  had 
certainly  removed  all  his  symptoms,  his  coldness,  weakness,  &c.; 
and  he  could  take  his  oath  upon  the  gospels  that  one  leg  now  felt 
exactly  like  the  other." 

He  now  asked  a  great  many  questions  concerning  me,  which 
Brown  answered  by  the  story  he  had,  by  constant  repetition,  al- 
most committed  to  memory,  viz.,  that  he  had  bought  me  of  an  In- 
dian king  for  ten  half-joes,  two  hunks  of  tobacco,  and  a  jack- 
knife,  &c.  &c. ;  all  which  Mr.  Feverage  heard  with  interest  and 
admiration,  especially  the  fact  of  my  being  a  slave.  He  declared 
he  would  swap  any  ten  of  his  hands  for  such  a  paragon,  and  of- 
fered to  buy  me  on  the  spot,  if  mymaster  would  put  anything  like 
a  reasonable  price  on  me.  But  Captain  Brown  swore,  with  affec- 
tionate emphasis,  "  he  would  not  part  with  me  for  the  world,  be- 


ROBIN   DAY.  217 

cause  how,  split  him,  he  was  not  going  to  sell  the  bread  out  of  his 
mouth." 

By  this  time  the  supper  was  laid,  and  a  sumptuous  one  it  was, 
too  ;  and  down  sat  the  hospitable  host,  having  previously  directed 
Captain  Brown  to  do  the  same. 

As  for  me,  who  had  with  longing  eyes  ana  dissolving  lips  sur- 
veyed the  dishes  as  they  were  brought  in  one  after  the  other,  and 
so  far  forgot  myself  as  to  anticipate  the  pleasure  I  should  have  in 
making  away  with  them,  I  received  a  sudden  hint  that  I  was  not 
expected  to  be  of  the  party,  by  Mr.  Feverage  bidding  one  of  the 
negro  footmen,  of  whom  there  were  some  half  a  dozen  or  more 
that  came  into  the  room  to  wait  on  the  table,  to  "  take  the  doctor 
to  the  kitchen,  and  give  him  his  supper  ; "  an  order,  however,  that 
he  immediately  revoked  by  saying — "  But,  after  all,  he's  no  com- 
mon blackey,  or  company  for  blackeys  :  and  so  take  him  to  the 
housekeeper's  pantry,  and  there  feed  him  like  a  white-man." 

Alas  !  how  my  cheeks  reddened  beneath  their  brown  covering 
at  my  unworthy  fate  !  how  my  blood  boiled  to  think  that  Captain 
Brown,  a  vulgar  ignoramus  and  desperado,  should  sit  down  to  a 
gentleman's  table,  from  which  I  was  driven  to  the  half  menial 
feast  of  a  housekeeper's  pantry  !  Alas,  alas  !  However,  I  was 
too  hungry  to  remain  long  in  a  passion. 

My  sable  attendant,  by  whom  I  was  taken  to  the  pantry,  assisted 
by  her  highness  the  housekeeper,  in  whom  I  expected  to  discover 
a  respectable  matron  of  my  own  hue,  but  found  only  an  old  mu- 
latto wench,  supplied  me  with  abundance  of  cold  victuals  ;  to 
which  was,  by  and  by,  added  a  dish  or  two  that  had  been  removed 
from  the  parlor  table,  after  serving  the  turn  of  my  honored 
master.  I  sighed  as  I  fell  foul  of  them.  "  But  nevermind,"  quoth 
I  to  myself  ;  "  this  is  the  last  time  the  vile  Captain  Brown  shall 
have  such  an  advantage  over  me.  To-morrow  I  cast  off  the  slough 
of  a  slave  and  resume  the  character  of  a  gentleman."  This 
thought  comforted  me,  and  I  made,  doubtless,  as  hearty  a  meal  as 
Captain  Brown  himself  did. 

My  supper  finished,  I  had  some  hope  of  being  conducted  again 
to  the  parlor,  where  Captain  Brown  was  enjoying  himself  over 
the  good  cheer  of  Mr.  Feverage,  and  telling  him,  no  doubt,  a 
great  many  unconscionable  stories  ;  but  in  this  I  was  disappointed, 
being  left — not  to  myself,  for  every  minute  there  came,  at  least, 
one  blackamoor  visage  to  the  door  to  survey  the  great  Magus  with 


218  ADVENTURES    OF 

looks  of  superstitious  wonder  and  fear — but  to  enjoy  my  own 
company  in  the  pantry  for  a  couple  of  hours  or  more.  At  the 
end  of  this  time,  there  came  a  blackey,  who  made  me  many  signs, 
which  I  could  not  understand,  until  he  expressed  his  wishes  in  an 
ejaculation  of  perplexity — "  Guy  now  !  he  no  talk  mer  and  I  no 
talk  him  !  How  I  make  dislnjie  niggah  go  up  de  garret  to  bed  ?" 
I  liked  not  the  epithet  "  Injie  niggah,"  but  I  made  the  Ethio- 
pian happy  by  understanding  his  gestures,  and  following  him  up 
the  stairs  of  the  spacious  mansion  (for  a  spacious  one  it  was,  and 
I  wondered  to  see  it  occupied  only  by  Mr.  Feverage  and  his  do- 
mestics,) to  a  doleful  little  garret,  where  the  servant  showed  me 
a  blanket  stretched  upon  the  floor,  and  signified  that  there  lay  my 
bed.  This  done,  he  marched  away,  carrying  the  light  with  him. 
as  if  that  were  a  superfluous  luxury  for  one  of  my  condition,  and 
I  got  into  bed  in  the  dark.  And  here,  notwithstanding  the  mor- 
tification I  felt,  I  presently  fell  sound  asleep,  and  did  not  awake 
until  rather  a  late  hour  in  the  morning. 


ROBIN    DAY.  219 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

Robin  Day  meets  an  astonishing  reverse  of  fortune,  and  plays  the 
Magian  on  his  own  account. 

I  was  called  up  by  the  same  negro  who  had  ushered  me  to  bed, 
and  now  motioned  me  to  follow  him  down  stairs  to  his  master, 
whom  I  found  no  longer  alone,  but  surrounded  by  quite  a  family 
— his  wife  and  children, — who,  it  seemed,  had  been  away  at  a  ball 
or  other  merry-making,  at  a  neighboring  estate,  and  had  either 
just  returned,  or  had  arrived  late  in  the  night,  while  I  was  sound 
asleep.  I  was  greatly  abashed  to  find  myself  in  such  good  com- 
pany, particularly  as  two  of  the  children  were  young  women 
grown,  and  extremely  handsome  and  genteel,  and  another  a 
young  gentleman  of  nineteen  or  twenty  :  besides  these,  there 
were  three  or  four  smaller  children. 

"  Here  he  comes  !"  cried  Mr.  Feverage,  with  great  exultation 
as  I  entered  the  room  :  "  don't  understand  a  word  of  English,  but 
is  the  most  astonishing  fellow  ever  brought  to  America.  Never 
could  have  believed  in  such  things,  but  for  the  actual  proof  ; 
cured  lazy  Jim  of  the  apoplexy  without  physic  ;  and  as  for  me — 
Ah  !  my  dear  Mrs.  Feverage — Ah  !  my  dear  children,"  he  added, 
pathetically,  "  you  never  knew  what  was  the  matter  with  me  ; — I 
could  not  find  the  heart  to  tell  you  anything  so  afflicting  ;  besides 
I  wasn't  so  sure  of  it  ;  but  the  truth  is,  it  was  a  palsy  beginning 

in  my  leg  " "  Ah,  lauk  !"  said  Mrs.  Feverage.  "  Yes,  my 

dear,"  quoth  Mr  Feverage,  "  a.  palsy  ;  but  the  Lord  be  thanked, 
Chowder  Chow  (for  that  is  his  name),  cleared  it  out  with  one 
single  dose  of  physic,  and  I  am  now  free  of  it  forever.  A  most 

surprising  fellow,  by  G ! — begging  your  pardon,  my  dear  ! — 

worth  his  weight  in  gold." 

"  Dear  me  ?"  cried  one  of  the  Misses  Feverage,  who,  like  the 
rest,  surveyed  me  with  curiosity  ;  "  what  an  ugly,  awkward  look- 
ing wretch  it  is  !" 

"  Quite  ridiculous,"  said  the  other. 


220  ADVENTURES    OF 

"  All  the  East  Indians,"  quote  the  brother,  with  the  air  of  one 
conscious  of  superior  learning,  "the  Hindoos,  Chinese,  and  all, 
are  of  the  Tartar  race,  which  is  a  kind  of  half -man,  half -monkey 
family  ;  but  I  don't  think  the  fellow  is  so  ill-looking,  only  he  looks 
to  me  more  like  a  sheep  than  a  philosopher." 

"  I  don't  care  one  curse — I  beg  your  pardon,  my  dear  ! — about 
his  looks,"  quoth  Mr.  Feverage,  apparently  disturbed  (but  by  no 
means  so  deeply  as  myself)  by  these  disparaging  remarks;  "  it  is 
commonly  the  case  that  your  wise  people,  your  men  of  genius  and 
learning,  your  Tullies  and  Mirabeaus,  your  ^Esops,  Socrateses, 
and  Alexander  Popes,  are  born  scarecrows,  but  who  thinks  the 
worse  of  them  for  their  want  of  beauty  ?" 

"  Oh,  dear  !"  said  Miss  Feverage  senior,  "  I'm  sure  he  may  be 
wise  enough  for  me,  but  I  thought  all  the  Oriental  people  were 
handsome,  like  the  princes  we  read  of  in  the  Arabian  Nights'  En- 
ter tainments." 

I  looked  around  for  Captain  Brown  to  help  me  out  of  my  diffi- 
culties, but  he  was  now  present  ;  and  such  was  my  rage  and  morti- 
fication at  the  contemptuous  remarks  of  which  I  was  the  object, 
but  which,  of  course,  I  was  not  supposed  to  understand,  that  I 
was  rejoiced,  notwithstanding  my  great  repugnance  to  the  Magian 
practice,  when  I  heard  Mr.  Feverage  say  he  was  going  to  conduct 
me  immediately  to  the  hospital,  to  cure  all  his  sick  negroes  at  a 
blow. 

But  I  did  not  thereby,  as  I  had  fondly  hoped,  escape  from  those 
unamiable  young  ladies,  (for  unamiable  enough  they  now  ap- 
peared in  my  eyes,)  in  whose  regards  I  had  found  so  little  favor. 
Moved  by  curiosity,  they,  with  their  mother,  brother,  and  even 
the  little  children,  declared  they  would  go  with  papa,  to  witness- 
the  miracles  I  was  expected  to  perform.  "  Come  along,  Chow- 
der Chow,"  said  Mr.  Feverage,  making  me  a  sign  to  follow  him 
to  the  hospital,  which  I  found  was  nothing  more  than  a  row  of 
log  cabins,  though  kept  pretty  clean  and  comfortable,  among 
which  the  sick  were  distributed. 

Here  I  had  no  doubt  I  should  find  Captain  Brown,  whose  ab- 
sence in  the  parlor  had  previously  caused  me  some  surprise,  but 
no  Captain  Brown  was  there,  nor  did  he  even  seem  to  be  expected 
by  anybody  but  myself.  Mr.  Feverage  took  me  by  the  elbow  and 
marched  me  up  to  a  form,  on  which  lay  a  poor  negro  man  in  what 
I  judged  was  the  last  stage  of  consumption  :  "  If  he  can  cure 


ROBIN    DAT.  221 

him"  quote  Mr.  Feverage,  with  a  look  of  confident  expectation, 
"  he  can  cure  anybody.  So,  Chowder  Chow,  boy,  begin — I  wish 
to  G — ! — I  beg  your  pardon,  my  dear  ! — I  knew  something  of  the 
lingo." 

I  looked  around  me  again,  and  with  uneasiness,  for  Captain 
Brown,  without  whose  powerful  assistance  and  encouraging  au- 
dacity, I  felt  no  great  confidence  in  my  Magian  abilities. 

"  What  is  the  scoundrel  gaping  after  ?"  quoth  Mr.  Feverage, 
waxing  impatient ;  when,  perceiving  I  must  play  my  part  whether 
Brown  came  or  not,  I  put  on  the  look  of  wisdom,  and  pronounced 
the  Magian  "  Holly -golly -wow." 

"  Hang  your  holly -golly -wow"  said  Mr.  Feverage  ;  "  why  don't 
you  give  him  the  physic  ?" 

I  gave  the  physic,  indeed  !  That  was  the  province  of  Captain 
Brown,  who,  moreover,  carried  the  Mermaids'  Eggs  and  Holy  Sand 
of  the  Ganges  in  his  own  pockets,  I  not  having  about  me  so  much 
as  a  single  dose. 

"  Holly -golly -wow"  repeated  I,  in  great  perplexity. 

"  Curse  you  gibberish,  I  tell  you !"  reiterated  Mr.  Feverage, 
begging  his  wife  to  excuse  him  for  swearing  ;  "  it's  the  physic  I 
want,  you  numskull ;  can't  you  understand  me  ?" 

"  Dear  me  !"  cried  Miss  Feverage,  junior  ;  "  how  can  he,  pa, 
when  he  don't  understand  English  ?  You  should  have  asked  the 
sailor-man  how  you  were  to  do  things." 

"  D — n  the  sailor-man — pray,  my  dear,  excuse  me  ! — he  told  me 
all  about  it,"  said  Mr.  Feverage,  growing  hotter  than  ever  ;  "he 
told  me  all  that  was  to  be  done  was  to  put  the  staring  jacka- 
napes before  the  sick  man,  and  that  he  would  cure  him  in  from 
seven  minutes  to  seven  days,  and  no  mistake  about  it." 

I  was  frightened  at  the  violence  of  my  worthy  host,  but  still 
more  at  what  he  said  of  Captain  Brown,  who — But  could  it  be  ? 
Had  he,  afraid,  as  I  might  well  suppose,  of  the  difficulty  of  mak- 
ing good  his  impudent  boasts,  afraid  of  the  responsibility  of  prac- 
tice among  so  really  sick  persons — had  he  deserted  me,  sneaked 
away,  left  me  to  cure  them  the  best  way  I  could  ?  and  cure  them 
too,  without  Mermaids'  Eggs  or  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges  ? 
Certainly  he  had,  I  could  no  longer  doubt  it ;  how  otherwise  was 
I  to  understand  the  fact  of  his  having  instructed  Mr.  Feverage 
how  he  was  "  to  do  things,"  how  he  was  "  to  put  the  jackanapes 
before  the  sick  man,"  coupled  with  his  extraordinary  absence  at 


222  ADVEKTUKES    OF 

such  a  time  of  need  ?  My  heart  died  within  me  to  think  of  his 
baseness  and  duplicity  ;  my.  blood  ran  cold  as  I  thought  of  the 
scrape  he  had  left  me  in.  How  was  I  to  get  out  of  it  ?  But  the 
intemperance  of  Mr.  Feverage  left  me  little  time  for  reflection, 
and  so  I  acted  upon  instinct. 

•'  Holly-golly-wow  /"  I  cried  again  :  then  turning  upon  Mr.  Fever- 
age,  before  he  could  vent  another  volley  of  abuse,  which  I  saw 
him  preparing,  I  resorted  to  the  Magian  language,  (for,  of  course, 
I  knew  no  other,)  and  demanded,  with  the  looks  of  one  asking 
the  most  important  question  in  the  world,  "  Willy -whary-gonny- 
doggy-Brown.  ?" 

"What  is  the  infernal  rascal  jabbering  about  now?"  quoth  Mr. 
Feverage  :  "  do  you  suppose  I  understand  your  diabolical  jargon  ?" 

"  Willy-whary-gonny-doggy-Brown  !"     I  repeated. 

"  He  says  Brown  !"  cried  Miss  Feverage  ;  who,  notwithstanding 
her  want  of  judgment  and  taste,  was  the  shrewdest  person  present; 
"  he  says  JBrown  •  and  that  was  the  name  of  the  sailor-man  :  and 
perhaps  he  is  asking  for  him." 

"  Are  you,  you  baboon  !"  said  Feverage ;  "  why,  he  went  off  at 
daylight.  But  what  has  that  to  do  with  our  business  ?  Why  don't 
you  physic  the  sick  man  ?" 

"  Willy-whary-gonny  Holly-golly-wow  !  Willy -whary-g onny- 
Sammy-ram-ram  ?"  I  again  demanded,  hoping  the  gentleman 
would  understand  I  was  asking  for  the  Magian  physic  ;  which, 
which,  however,  he  did  not,  until  I  had  expended  a  great  deal  of 
ingenuity  in  explanatory  gesticulation,  and  then  hit  upon  the  device 
of  putting  my  finger  in  my  mouth,  by  which  I  meant  physic,  and 
next  of  turning  a  pocket  wrong  side  out,  to  indicate  that  I  had 
none. 

Miss  Feverage  again  penetrated  my  meaning  ;  and  nothing 
could  exceed  the  mingled  consternation  and  rage  of  the  parent, 
when  the  conception  first  flashed  upon  his  mind  that  I  had  no 
medicines  to  administer  to  his  tenants  of  the  hospital. 

"Oh!  that  infernal  villain  1"  he  cried;  "  that  swindling  Brown! 
He  has  gone  off  with  the  Mermaids'  Eggs  and  the  Holy  Sand  of 
the  Ganges  !  And  what  is  the  doctor  good  for  without  them  ? 
Bitten,  swindled,  most  atrociously  swindled?  No  wonder  the 
rascal  was  willing  to  trade  so  reasonably  ;  for  what's  the  doctor 
without  his  physic  ?" 

It  was  now  my  turn  to  be  struck  with  consternation  ;  and  the 


ROBIN     DAY.  223 

reader  may  judge  the  horror  into  which  I  was  thrown  by  finding, 
from  the  expressions  of  the  gentleman,  that  Captain  Brown,  my 
villainous  confederate,  had  not  merely  deserted  me,  but  had  actu- 
ally sold  me,  sold  me  as  a  slave,  for — but  I  do  not  know  what  sum 
it  was  he  got  for  me — to  my  present  master,  Mr.  Fabius  Maximus 
Feverage  ;  having  also  disposed  of  my  nag,  which  he  represented 
as  being  a  Tartar  pony  from  some  royal  stable  in  the  East  Indies. 

Yes !  it  was  true  ! — astounding,  horrifying  as  it  was,  it  was 
true ;  the  intolerable  villain  had  sold  me,  and  gone  off  with  the 
money. 

What  was  the  difficulty  I  had  previously  lamented,  of  being 
left  to  play  the  doctor  alone,  compared  with  this  newer  and  more 
dreadful  dilemma  in  which  I  was  now  plunged  ?  It  was  fortunate, 
perhaps,  that  my  agitation,  which  was  for  a  moment  inexpressibly 
great — and  how  could  it  be  otherwise  ? — was,  in  a  manner,  lost  and 
unnoticed  in  the  tumult  of  my  master's  (my  master's  !)  rage  ; 
and  after  that  had  blown  itself  away,  and  the  family  could  again 
turn  their  eyes  upon  Chowder  Chow,  his  confusion  was  most 
naturally  and  charitably  attributed  to  the  loss  of  his  Magian 
medicines,  the  infallible  Mermaids'  Eggs  and  the  panaceal  Holy 
Sand  of  the  Ganges. 

But  not  a  thought,  or  a  care,  gave  Chowder  Chow,  at  that  mo- 
ment, to  his  medicines.  I  had  more  important  matters  to  excruciate 
my  mind  ;  which,  at  first  overwhelmed  by  the  greatness  of  my 
predicaments,  was  next  filled  by  a  whirl  of  hurrying  projects  to 
escape  them. 

My  first  idea  was  to  tell  the  truth — to  unlock  my  lips,  and  in 
plain  English  expose  the  fraud  that  had  been  practised  upon  Mr. 
Feverage  and  my  unfortunate  self,  and  assert  my  freedom  as  a 
freeman  should. 

But  alas  !  my  fears  (not  to  give  the  credit  to  my  common- 
sense,)  told  me  that  expedient  could  only  serve  to  translate  me 
from  the  culinary  vessel,  in  which  I  may  well  say  I  was  frying,  to 
the  fire  wherein  I  must  suffer  the  equal  pangs  of  broiling.  To 
tell  the  truth  would  be  to  confess  myself  an  accomplice  in  fraud, 
the  confederate  of  a  swindler  who  had  been  cheating  the  good 
people  of  the  district  for  more  than  a  week  ;  and  whether  I  (to 
prove  that  had  necessity,  and  not  my  own  will,  had  forced  me  into 
the  reluctant  complicity,)  should  reveal  the  cause  of  my  sub- 
mission, or  keep  that  secret  to  myself,  I  must  encounter  a  similar 


224  ADVENTURES    OF 

danger  ;  in  the  one  case,  take  my  chance  before  a  court-martial 
for  high  treason — in  the  other,  before  a  court-civil  for  felony. 

To  tell,  moreover,  to  a  man  who  was  already  raging  over  the 
loss  of  the  Mermaids'  Eggs  and  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges,  a 
truth  which  n,ust  add  to  that  the  loss  of  the  money  he  had  paid 
for  me,  was,  even  of  itself,  an  undertaking  of  highly  questionable 
expediency  ;  and  when  I  reflected  that  to  the  indignation  at  the 
loss  of  his  money  must  be  added  the  mortification  of  having 
been  so  grossly  played  upon,  in  the  matter  of  the  palsy,  I  shrank 
from  the  dangers  of  confession. 

"  No,  no,"  thought  I  to  myself  ;  "  honesty  is  undoubtedly  the 
best  policy  in  the  main  ;  but  it  won't  do  in  this  case."  I  have 
learned  to  put  another  interpretation  upon  the  old  saw  of  the 
copy-books,  which  is,  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy,  where  one 
wishes  to  go  to  heaven  ;  but  where  earthly  prosperity — the  attain- 
ment of  wealth,  and  honor,  and  power — is  the  only  thing  aimed 
at,  it  may  be  often  very  conveniently  dispensed  with. 

What  then — since  I  durst  not  claim  my  freedom,  by  telling  the 
truth — remained  for  me  to  do  ?  Must  I  remain  a  slave,  because 
the  unparalleled  Captain  Brown  had  sought  fit  to  sell,  and  the  un- 
suspicious Mr.  Feveragv  had  deemed  proper  to  buy  me  for  one  ? 
No,  by  mine  honor,  I  had  no  idea  of  that. 

There  were  but  two  ways  I  could  think  of,  in  which  my  liberty 
was  to  be  retrieved  ;  and  one  having  been  considered  and  rejected, 
I  was  compelled  to  place  all  my  reliance  upon  the  other,  which 
was  considered  and  adopted  during  that  brief  period  of  agitation 
which  the  rage  and  fury  of  Mr.  Feverage  gave  me  leisure  to  in- 
dulge. I  resolved  to  submit — that  is,  to  allow  myself  to  be  con- 
sidered a  slave  just  so  long  as  I  could  not  help  it,  and  recover  my 
freedom  by  running  away  at  the  very  first  opportunity.  And 
this,  all  things  considered,  was  perhaps  the  wisest  resolution  I 
could  have  adopted. 

But  I  had  been  bought  as  a  Magus — a  dispenser  of  life  and 
health — and  it  was  necessary  I  should  continue  to  preserve  the 
character.  The  difficulty  was  how  I  was  to  do  it,  being  robbed  by 
Captain  Brown  of  what  Mr.  Feverage  seemed  to  consider  the  most 
important  part  of  his  purchase,  the  Mermaids'  Eggs  and  the  Holy 
Sand  of  the  Ganges.  And  this  difficulty,  which  was  now  the  main 
source  of  grief  to  my  master  (fortunately,  as  I  could  not  speak 
English,  I  was  not  obliged  to  call  him  so,)  might  have  continued  a 


KOBIN   DAT.'  225 

long  time,  had  it  not  been  removed  by  the  sagacity  of  '  young 
missus,'  (I  have  less  shame  in  giving  her  the  title,  though  I  shall 
never  forget  her  reflections  upon  my  good  looks,)  who  said,  that 
"  if  I  was  a  good  doctor  my  knowledge  could  not  certainly  be 
confined  to  but  two  medicines  ;"  and  therefore  recommended  I 
should  have  the  family  medicine  chest  brought  me,  to  see  what  I 
could  do  with  it. 

The  father  caught  at  the  idea  ;  the  medicine  chest  was  brought, 
and  signs  made  that  I  should  select  from  it  such  drugs  as  were- 
suitable  to  my  purpose. 

./select,  indeed  !  My  knowledge  of  the  Materia  Medica  was 
somewhat  too  limited  for  selection  ;  but  I  affected  to  do  so.  I 
tumbled  over  the  bottles  of  potions  and  powders,  taking  good  care 
to  appear  not  to  read  or  understand  the  labels,  but  to  judge  of 
their  qualities  by  smelling.  Some  I  rejected  with  a  learned  con- 
tempt, others  with  frowns  of  knowing  detestation  ;  until  coming 
upon  a  bottle  of  salts,  thinks  I  to  myself,  "  Salts  can't  hurt  any- 
body," and  was  going  to  administer  a  dose  to  my  patient,  the 
consumptive  negro  before  whose  bunk  had  been  acted  the  whole 
of  the  preliminary  play.  His  ghastly  looks  fortunately  frightened  me 
into  a  doubt  of  the  propriety  of  giving  him  such  a  medicine ;  and 
the  same  reason  deterred  me  from  a  dose  of  calomel  and  jalap, 
which  association  presented  as  the  next  most  natural,  because  best 
known  remedies  ;  when  my  eye  fell  upon  a  bottle  of  laudanum,  of 
which  I  immediately  gave  the  poor  fellow  a  dose,  taking  care,  as  I 
did  so,  to  look  round  upon  my  master  with  a  melancholy  shake  of 
the  head,  as  if  to  inform  him  I  had  but  little  confidence  in  the  med- 
icine, and  only  gave  it  because  I  could  find  nothing  better. 

"He  knows  what  he  is  about, after  all!"  said  my  master,  return- 
ing the  melancholy  shake  ;  "  he  means  to  say  poor  Joe  is  beyond 
all  common  remedies — (May  the  devil  seize  that  rascal  Brown 
for  carrying  off  the  Mermaids'  Eggs  !  for  who  knows  but  that  one 
of  them  might  have  cured  him  ?) — and  that  all  that  can  be  done  for 
him  is  to  give  him  laudanum,  and  let  him  die  easy." 

Of  my  next  patient  all  that  I  can  say  is,  that  he  was  sick,  and  I 
did  not  know  what  was  the  matter  with  him  ;  but  as  he  was  a  ro- 
bust young  fellow,  I  thought  no  harm  could  come  of  giving  him 
a  dose  of  salts,  which  I  accordingly  administered.  And  this  pre- 
scription had  also  the  merit  of  meeting  my  master's  approbation, 
which  he  expressed  by  saying,  "  After  all,  I  believe  the  rascal  is 


226  ADVENTURES    OF 

worth  the  money,  and  sees  through  a  disease  with  a  look.  What  a 
pity  we  had  not  some  of  his  own  Indian  medicines  !" 

To  the  third  patient,  whose  case  was  as  mysterious  to  me  as  that 
of  the  second,  and  who  appeared  to  be  neither  particularly  strong 
nor  particularly  weak,  I  ventured  to  administer  a  little  calomel  and 
jalap,  upon  which  my  master  observed,  "  My  practice  was  just 
like  that  of  the  regular  physicians  ;  it  was  plain  there  was  no 
quackery  about  me  ;"  and  he  ended  by  a  hearty  execration  upon 
Brown  for  not  leaving  some  of  the  Holy  Sand  of  the  Ganges, 
which  was  undoubtedly  of  greater  efficacy  than  all  the  regular 
physic  in  his  drug  box. 

In  short,  (for  I  have  no  design  to  record  my  experimental  es- 
says upon  the  lives  of  all  the  sick  in  the  hospital,)  I  went 
through  my  task  the  best  way  I  could;  and  my  hap-hazard  prac- 
tice quite  contented  my  master,  who  seemed,  since  I  had  no 
Magian  medicines  to  administer,  not  to  expect  any  very  miracu- 
lous cures  of  me;  and  I  heard  him  afterwards  assure  his  wife, 
who,  with  all  her  children  had  left  the  hospital  as  soon  as  they 
found  I  was  to  do  nothing  astonishing,  that  "he  believed  he 
would  have  his  money's  worth  of  me,  as  I  would  save  him  two 
or  three  hundred  dollars  a  year  in  doctors'  bills;  but  he  never 
would  forgive  that  cursed  sailor-man,  Brown,  (begging  her  par- 
don,) for  having  cheated  him  out  of  the  Mermaids'  Eggs." 


ROBIN    DAY.  221 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

Robin  Day  escape?  from  slavery,  is  chased  by  a  bloody-minded 
pursuer,  and  relieved  by  an  unexpected  friend. 

THE  extraordinary  fatality  which  had  attended  all  my  previous 
efforts  to  escape  from  the  different  misfortunes  that  had  befallen, 
me,  plunging  me  only  from  one  difficulty  into  another,  had  now 
taught  me  a  lesson  of  prudence  ;  and  I  resolved,  this  time,  to  act 
with  the  greatest  circumspection,  and  arrange  such  a  plan  of  es- 
cape as  should,  besides  most  certainly  restoring  me  to  freedom,  re- 
sult in  as  few  inconvenient  consequences  as  possible.  To  run  away, 
I  perceived,  was  not  of  itself  sufficient  to  secure  my  liberty  ;  the 
fugitive  slave  always  expects  pursuit ;  and  from  my  uncommon 
value,  it  was  but  reasonable  to  suppose  my  master  would  take  un- 
common pains  to  recover  me.  It  was  necessary  I  should  make  my- 
self acquainted  with  the  country  through  which  I  was  to  fly,  so  as 
to  decide  upon  a  route  the  most  advantageous  for  my  purpose  ;  it 
was  necessary  to  anticipate  every  possible  danger  that  might  arise, 
and  the  means  of  avoiding  it : — in  short,  it  was  necessary  to  think 
and  do  a  great  many  things,  none  of  which  could  be  thought  or 
done  in  a  moment. 

While  arranging  these  indispensable  preliminaries,  I  submitted 
— or  seemed  to  submit— with  great  gravity  and  resignation,  to  my 
lot  of  servitude,  and  played  the  part  of  the  Indian  doctor  to  per- 
fection. The  servitude  itself  was  no  great  matter,  and  but  for  the 
name  would  have  been  nothing,  since  my  learned  character,  and 
perhaps  my  complexion,  which  favorably  distinguished  me  from 
the  sons  of  Africa,  (and  which,  by  the  way,  I  was  obliged  to  re- 
new every  day,)  prevented  my  receiving  the  treatment  of  a  com- 
mon blackey.  Without  being  flattered  by  any  particular  marks  of 
respect,  I  was  neither  kicked  nor  cuffed  ;  and  I  had  the  happiness 
of  not  being  compelled  to  any  kind  of  slavish  occupations.  It  is 
true,  I  heard  my  master  once  talk  of  making  me  wait  at  table  ; 
but  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  was  unfit  for  such  service, 
while  incapable  of  understanding  a  word  of  English. 


228  ADVENTURES     OP 

My  only  business  was  to  physic  the  sick,  to  attend  upon  the 
hospital,  where  I  spent  nearly  all  my  time,  as  much  to  deceive  Mr. 
Feverage  with  my  appearance  of  zeal,  as  to  keep  out  of  the  sight 
of  his  family.  What  good  I  did  the  patients  I  am  not  yet  learned 
enough  in  the  medical  art  to  say  ;  but  I  physicked  away  at  them 
with  the  best  intentions.  All  that  is  certain  is,  some  died  and 
some  got  well ;  but  whether  I  killed  the  former,  or  cured  the  lat- 
ter, was  not  so  sure,  even  at  the  time  of  practice.  And,  indeed, 
I  did  not  trouble  myself  greatly  to  inquire  or  to  think  upon  the 
subject  :  my  mind  was  all  the  time  engaged  with  the  thought  of 
escape. 

As  in  most  sudden  transformations  of  character  or  changes  of 
-conduct,  one  commonly  jumps  into  extremes,  so  it  happened  with 
me  upon  this  unlucky  occasion.  I  was  determined,  as  I  have  said, 
to  act,  in  my  project  of  escape,  with  the  utmost  prudence  and  cir- 
cumspection ;  and  so  prudently  and  circumspectly  I  did  act  that 
I  was  like  never  to  have  put  my  project  into  execution.  To  pro- 
vide against  difficulties  and  dangers,  it  was  necessary  to  anticipate 
all  that  could  happen  :  and  I  anticipated  so  many  that  I  was  al- 
most afraid  to  encounter  them.  My  imagination,  as  I  dwelt  upon 
them,  drew  them  in  such  formidable  colors  as  frightened  herself  : 
.and  the  enterprise  looked  daily  more  doubtful  and  dreadful.  I 
trembled,  faltered,  vacillated,  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
week  from  the  desertion  of  Captain  Brown  found  me,  to  my  own 
astonishment  and  affliction,  still  a  slave.  And  it  is  not  improbable 
I  might  have  consumed  still  seven  weeks  longer  in  hesitation,  had 
not  a  circumstance  arisen  which  frighted  me  out  of  fear  and  des- 
perately nerved  me  to  action.  This  was  nothing  less  than  a  pro- 
ject my  master  suddenly  formed  of  selling  me — for  I  believe  he 
was  now  tired  of  his  bargain,  being  a  fickle-minded  man — to  a 
Carolina  planter,  who  had  a  higher  opinion  of  my  abilities  or 
greater  need  of  my  services.  The  subject  was  freely  discussed  in 
my  presence  (who  was  still  ignorant  of  the  English  language — 
and,  truly,  that  same  ignorance  caused  me  to  hear  a  great  many 
conversations  I  should  not  otherwise  have  been  made  privy  to),  in 
the  hospital,  whither  my  master  brought  the  purchaser  to  examine 
me  and  my  proceedings  among  the  sick. 

The  effect  of  their  discussion  upon  my  mind  did  not  tend,  I  fear, 
to  the  benefit  of  my  patients  ;  for  such  was  the  consternation  into 
which  I  was  thrown,  that  I,  from  that  moment,  began  to  lay  about 


KOBIN   DAY.  229 

me  among  the  sick  with  a  maniacal  activity  and  forgetf ulness  of 
consequences ;  which,  however,  only  recommended  me  more 
strongly  to  the  stranger's  regard.  He  observed  "  I  was  a  bold 
practitioner,  and  knew  how  to  treat  negro  constitutions."  He 
then,  with  Mr.  Feverage,  left  the  hospital,  the  one  agreeing  to  pur- 
chase, the  other  to  sell,  the  only  subject  of  controversy  being  the 
price,  which  I  had  no  doubt  they  would  soon  agree  upon. 

It  was  then  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  they  adjourned  from  the 
hospital  to  supper  ;  "  after  which,"  I  heard  Mr.  Feverage  say, 
**  we  will  be  able  to  settle  the  matter  to  our  mutual  satisfaction." 
"You  may  settle  it  to  your  satisfaction,"  quoth  I  to  myself; 
"  but  I  doubt  whether  either  will  be  so  well  satisfied  in  the  morn- 
ing." In  truth,  I  resolved  to  run  away  that  very  night. 

I  stole  back  to  the  house,  and  into  the  housekeeper's  room, 
where  my  presence  never  caused  any  surprise,  as,  indeed,  the 
medicine  chest  was  kept  there,  to  which  I  had,  of  course,  con- 
tinual access  ;  and  the  yellow  lady,  the  mistress  of  the  place,  had 
accommodated  me  with  a  little  table  in  the  corner,  where  I  used  to 
measure  out,  and  sometimes  compound  (for  I  grew  bold  with 
practice)  the  drugs  that  so  insufficiently  supplied  the  place  of  the 
Magian  medicines.  I  entered  the  room  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  fill  my  pockets  with  food  to  sustain  me  in  the  flight  ;  but  the 
housekeeper  being  there  at  the  time,  engaged  making  a  pot  of 
chocolate,  I  was  obliged  to  conceal  my  object,  and  pretend  to 
busy  myself  with  the  medicine  chest. 

While  I  was  thus  occupied  tumbling  the  drugs  about,  the 
housekeeper  stepped  for  a  moment  out  of  the  room,  when  the 
devil  (for  I  know  not  how  else  to  account  for  the  desperate 
prompting)  put  it  into  my  head  that,  as  nothing  would  more 
certainly  facilitate  my  escape  than  the  soundest  slumber  on  the 
part  of  every  member  of  the  family,  including  also  my  intended 
purchaser,  so  nothing  would  more  manifestly  secure  them  a  sound 
nap  than  a  dose  of  opium  thrown  into  their  chocolate. 

This  brilliant  idea  was  no  sooner  formed  than  put  into  execu- 
tion, and  without  thinking  (for,  verily,  I  had  no  time  to  think) 
of  the  consequences  that  might  result,  I  snatched  up  a  huge  mass 
of  the  narcotic  ,  enough  to  physic  the  whole  household,  and  with 
trembling  hand  tumbled  it  into  the  pot.  In  another  instant  the 
housekeeper  returned,  gave  her  chocolate  the  finishing  stir,  and 
carried  it  off  into  the  parlor.  I  took  advantage  of  her  second 


23?) 


A  I)  VK NITRES    OF 


sortie  to  gather  up  a  hasty  supply  of  eatables,  and  then  retreated 
to  my  medicine  chest  again,  to  await  the  period  of  my  own  supper, 
which  I  thought  it  necessary  to  take  to  avoid  suspicion,  for  I  had 
planned  to  begin  my  flight  in  the  dead  of  night,  after  a  pretence 
of  going  to  bed  ;  and  Cowder  Chow,  with  all  his  bothers  and 
afflictions,  never  went  to  bed  in  Mr.  Feverage's  house  without  his 
supper. 

But  by  and  by  there  arose  a  great  scolding  in  the  parlor,  and 
I  could  hear  my  master  and  his  family  finding  fault  with  the  choco- 
late, declaring  that  it  had  a  very  odd  and  unaccountable  taste  ; 
and  her  ladyship  the  housekeeper  was  forthwith  summoned  to  the 
room  to  explain  the  mystery. 

I  was  terribly  frightened  at  this  unexpected  turn  of  affairs,  and 
scarce  doubting  but  that  the  inquiry  thus  instituted  must  result  in 
a  discovery  of  the  liberty  I  had  taken,  I  saw  no  hope  but  in  im- 
mediate flight.  I  slipped  from  the  pantry  and  the  back  door,  and 
fled  through  the  fields  to  a  wood  not  far  off,  which  I  reached 
without  difficulty  or  notice,  it  being  then  almost  dark. 

One  of  the  chief,  and  as  I  esteemed  it,  most  necessary  prepara- 
tions for  escape  consisted  in  the  study  of  a  large  State  map  of 
Virginia,  which  my  master  had  hanging  up  -in  the  hall  or  main 
passage  of  his  house,  where  I  had  many  opportunities  of  viewing 
it  unobserved.  And  I  pored  over  it  so  often  and  long  that  I  had 
fairly  committed  to  memory  all  the  roads,  rivers,  towns  and  moun- 
tains in  that  part  of  the  State  through  which  I  designed  to  fly  ; 
nay,  I  had  even  taken  the  pains  to  construct  in  secret  a  little  rude 
but  sufficient  map  of  my  own,  on  which  I  could  better  rely  than  on 
my  memory  alone.  My  course  I  had  long  determined  should  be 
westward,  towards  the  interior,  which  I  flattered  myself  would  be 
precisely  the  direction  in  which  no  fugitive  slave  would  be  be- 
lieved to  bend  his  steps.  In  that  quarter  I  should  soon  reach  the 
mountains,  among  which,  in  case  of  extremity,  I  might  find  hiding 
places  and  rocks  of  safety  in  abundance  ;  and,  following  among 
their  sequestered  valleys,  or  along  their  wild  ridges,  I  must  soon 
penetrate  to  the  great  West,  whose  name  associated  the  most 
agreeable  ideas  of  freedom  and  independence. 

My  course  thus  resolved  upon,  a  map  of  the  country  in  my  head, 
and  an  itinerary  in  my  pocket,  I  struck  boldly  through  the  woods, 
seeking  for  a  road  which,  I  knew,  led  to  a  ferry  over  the  Roanoke, 
some  seven  or  eight  miles  from  Mr.  Feverage's  house.  The  road 


ROBIN    DAY.  231 

I  found,  and  the  ferry  also,  where,  not  having  the  courage  to  call 
the  ferryman  to  my  assistance,  I  helped  myself  to  a  canoe,  which  I 
discovered  on  the  bank,  and  paddled  across  the  river. 

The  bank  being  gained,  I  immediately  removed  from  my  per- 
son every  vestige  of  my  late  Magian  character  and  servitude. 
The  vile  complexion,  which  I  had  been  compelled  daily  to  renew, 
to  avoid  detection,  I  washed  away  in  the  river ;  into  which  I  also 
threw  the  detestable  bandanna  and  the  horrid  yarns  that  bound 
my  hair.  Then  drawing  my  cap  from  its  concealment  in  my 
pocket,  to  be  remounted  upon  my  head,  and  securing  the  canoe, 
so  that  the  owner  could  get  it  again  if  he  pleased,  I  resumed  my 
steps,  walking  with  such  diligence  and  speed  that,  if  my  map  was 
to  be  relied  on,  I  had  by  morning  put  at  least  thirty  miles  between 
me  and  my  master's  house. 

And  this  was  exactly  what  I  had  calculated  upon  in  my  plan  of 
escape.  I  had  always  esteemed  it  a  matter  of  the  first  necessity  to 
get  over  the  greatest  possible  distance  the  first  night  ;  and  thirty 
miles  was  just  what  I  assigned  myself,  besides  thirty  more  to  be 
accomplished  during  the  day. 

Unfortunately,  however,  in  thus  calculating  the  distance,  I  for- 
got to  calculate  the  strength  necessaiy  to  carry  me  through  it,  as  I 
soon  discovered  to  my  cost  ;  for  I  had  scarce  congratulated  myself 
upon  having  done  so  much  when  I  found  I  was  unable  to  do  any 
more.  I  was,  in  a  word,  completely  exhausted,  worn  out,  knocked 
up,  incapable  of  proceeding  further,  compelled  to  come  to  a  stand, 
when  every  moment  of  delay,  I  knew,  was  a  big  danger.  The 
inactive  life  of  Chowder  Chow  had  melted  away  the  strength  of 
Robin  Day  ;  and,  besides,  Robin  Day  had  overtasked  his  powers. 

I  sat  down  upon  a  stump  on  the  road  side  to  draw  breath,  and 
consider  what  was  to  be  done  ;  and  I  had  just  come  to  the  con- 
clusion I  could  do  nothing  better  than  hunt  up  some  hiding  place 
in  the  woods,  and  there  sleep  till  night,  at  which  period  I  hoped 
to  be  able  to  continue  my  journey,  when  I  perceived  a  traveler,  in 
a  military  garb,  come  riding  up  from  behind  on  a  sorrel  horse. 

I  had  no  particular  reason  to  apprehend  a  pursuer  in  the  person 
of  a  gentleman  of  the  army,  regular  or  militia  ;  but  I  held  it  most 
for  my  interest  at  that  time  to  avoid  the  observation  of  all  persons. 
I  therefore  rose  from  my  stump,  and  slipped  aside  into  the  wood, 
hoping  I  had  escaped  the  stranger's  notice.  But  I  was  mistaken  ; 
and  as  he  rode  up  he  uttered  a  loud  halloo,  and  turned  into  the 


•J«-J  Un'KN  H'KKS     OK 

wood    aftor    mo.   at    \vhioh    I    was    thrown    into  suoh  a  panic  that  I 
Ot    m\     fatiguo,    and    immodiatoly    took    to    my    hools   to  bury 

m\solf  among  tho  t  roos  and  bushes.    But,  alas,  the  stranger  in 
slant ly  spurrod  after  me,  ordering  me  to  stop,  to  suri^nder,  and 

1  kiu-w  not  wliat  ;  but  I  only  r:u»  tlu>  t'astt-r,  at  whirli,  growing 
furious,  ho  jmlh'd  out  a  pistol  and  (irod  at  nu>,  and  then  h>t  llv 
another,  and  ondod  by  drawing  a  long  s\vord,  witli  wliii-li,  b^ing 
now  rlosr  at  my  liools,  ho  offered  to  Out  mo  down  ;  so  that  1  was 
fain  to  oomo  to  an  immodiato  halt,  ami  bog  for  moroy.  What  was 
my  ama/i-mont,  what  my  jv>y.  whim,  turning  round  ami  looking 
into  the  face  of  my  blood  thirsty  rmrsuor,  I  perceived  the  fea- 
tures  of  my  fnond  l>ioky  Dare  \ 


IIOWN    DAY.  233 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

In  which  Robin  retrieves  kin  reputation  in  the  opinion  of  Dicky 
Uare,  and  is  restored  to  the  friendship  of  t/utt  Jwroic  adventurer. 


"On,  Dicky!  "  cried  I,  "do  you  mean  to  murder  mc?"- 
question  for  which  there  was  good  reason,  as  my  martial  friend 
was  in  a  towering  passion,  and  still  brandished  his  cut-and-thrust 
about  my  ears,  as  if  half  of  a  mind  to  carve  rne  to  pieces. 

"Robin  Day  !  "  quoth  he,  in  equal  astonishment  : — "may  I  ne- 
ver smell  gunpowder,  by  Julius  Caesar,  if  I  didn't  think  you  were 
»omc  flying  jailbird  of  a  prisoner  of  war  or  a  rascal  broke  loose 
from  a  county  prison,  or  some  such  rabblement  stuff — to  runaway 
in  such  a  cowardly  style,  when  I  only  wanted  to  ask  about  the 
road  !  But  I  say,  by  Julius  Caesar,  what  are  you  doing  here?  " 

It  was  some  time  before  I  could  reply  to  the  question,  so 
great  was  the  ferment  of  joy  into  which  I  was  thrown  by  this 
happy  encounter  ;  for  in  the  presence  of  Dicky  I  saw  a  release 
from  every  affliction,  a  protection  from  every  danger. 

"  Oh,  Dicky,"  said  I,  "  fate  has  sent  you  here  to  help  me  out 
of  the  greatest  difficulty — as  great  an  one  perhaps  as  that  you 
saved  me  from  when  I  was  taken  prisoner  by  that  caitiff, 
Duck,  and  accused  of  high  treason.  I  shall  never  forget  your 
kindness,  that  time,  in  saving  me  from  a  court-martial." 

"  Sir,"  said  Dicky,  in  a  lofty  way,  "  that  was  in  memory  of 
our  old  friendship  ;  but  I  beg  you  to  observe  that  I  am  not  to  be 
called  upon  to  interpose  in  your  favor,  under  such  circumstances, 
a  second  time.  Friendship,  sir,  is  one  thing,  but  honor,  sir — by 
Julius  Caesar,  honor  is  another." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  Dicky,  it  is  ;  but  I  hope  you  don't  regret 
saving  me  from  being  shot  or  hanged  ?  I'm  sure  I  would  have 
done  as  much  for  you." 

"  Oh,"  said  Dicky,  "as  it  turned  out,  I  don't  think  they  would 
hav<;  altogether  made  it  out  -so  bad  a  case  for  you  at  the  court- 
martial  ;  because  that  rascal  Duck  that  accused  you  was  a  traitor 
hirnhelf." 


234  ADVENTURES    OP 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  he  was  ;  he  piloted  the  British  up  and  down 
the  Bay  to  all  the  towns." 

"  Exactly  so,"  said  Dicky  ;  "  the  prisoners  we  took  informed 
against  him,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  after  you  were  gone  we  had 
the  dog  arrested,  to  stand  his  trial  ;  and  I  believe  they  hanged 
him,  or  intended  to  do  so." 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  I,  devoutly.  "  And  as  for  my  being  a  traitor, 
I  think  I  can  prove  to  your  satisfaction  I  was  a  very  innocent 
one." 

"  If  you  can,  by  Julius  Caesar,"  said  Dicky  Dare,  with  gener- 
ous impetuosity,  "  I  shall  shake  hands  with  you,  and  be  very  good 
friends  with  you  ;  though,  sir,  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  think  as  much  of 
your  spunk  as  I  used  to  do." 

"  Oh,"  said  I,  "  I  can  explain  that  too." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Dicky  ;  "  you  can  explain  along  the  road, 
and  no  time  lost,  as  we  go  to  breakfast ;  for  I  understand  there's  a 
tavern  only  two  or  three  miles  ahead,  where  we  can  eat  ;  and,  by 
Julius  Caesar,  I'm  hungry." 

I  told  him  I  was  too  tired,  having  been  on  foot  all  the  night, 
and  must  have  a  little  rest. 

And  with  that,  I  invited  him  to  dismount  and  tie  his  horse,  and 
take  a  seat  by  me  on  a  log  ;  and,  to  show  him  he  need  not  concern 
himself  about  his  breakfast,  I  instantly  produced  a  store  of  cold 
chicken  legs  and  other  dainties  from  my  pocket,  which  I  invited 
him  to  share  with  me. 

"  A  soldier,"  quoth  Dicky  Dare,  "  can  ask  no  better  breakfast, 
or  place  to  eat  it.  I  remember,  dad  told  me  that  General  Marion 
used  to  dine  off  a  log  in  a  swamp,  and  feed  on  parched  corn  and 
sweet  potatoes." 

And  so  saying,  the  young  soldier  dismounted,  unbitted  his  nag, 
who  straightway  fell  to  work  upon  the  young  twigs  and  bushes 
around,  while  his  master,  with  equal  appetite,  addressed  himself 
to  the  nobler  provender  drawn  from  the  larder  of  Mr.  Feverage. 

During  the  meal,  I  acquainted  him  with  all  my  adventures  from 
the  time  of  our  separation  on  the  highway  up  to  the  moment  of 
our  second  parting  on  the  field  of  battle,  upon  all  which,  as  well 
as  upon  my  conduct  in  them,  he  commented  in  a  very  free  and 
characteristic  way.  He  expressed  great  contempt  of  my  pusil- 
lanimity in  allowing  myself  to  be  seized  by  the  wagoners,  and 
contrasted  with  it  his  own  courageous  and  successful  resistance  of 


EOKIN    DAY.  235 

those  zealous  thief -takers,  of  which  I  was  now  informed  for  the 
first  time.  He  highly  commended  the  address  and  spirit  of  Cap- 
tain Brown  in  shuffling  the  charge  of  robbery  upon  my  shoulders, 
and  then  riding  off  with  my  horse,  an  act,  he  averred,  I  should, 
and  easily  might  have  prevented  by  blowing  his  brains  out.  My 
further  adventures  with  Captain  Brown  he  considered  very  ex- 
traordinary, as,  indeed,  I  did  myself,  both  from  the  audacity  of 
Captain  Brown  and  my  own  stupidity  in  allowing  myself  to  be  so 
-easily  imposed  upon.  But  when  I  came  to  inform  him  how  I  had 
mistaken  the  British  sailors  for  American  militiamen,  without 
perceiving  the  error  until  charging  with  them  against,  my  own 
countrymen,  and  how  I  had  pretended  to  volunteer  in  their  service, 
only  to  secure  an  opportunity  of  escape,  his  surprise  was  only  ex- 
ceeded by  his  indignation.  He  swore  by  Julius  Ca3sar,  seven 
times  over,  I  was  the  biggest  ninny  in  warlike  matters,  and,  he  be- 
lieved, in  all  others,  the  world  had  ever  produced — a  compliment 
which  I  took  without  offence,  for  I  was,  in  truth,  so  happy  to  fall 
in  with  him,  and  so  deeply  persuaded  of  the  superiority  of  his 
genius,  that  I  could  have  borne  even  much  more  disparagement 
without  repining.  Besides,  I  was  more  than  half  persuaded  he 
charged  nothing  more  than  was  true. 

Then  followed  my  final  adventure  with  Captain  Brown,  the 
story  of  the  disguise  and  the  Magian  medicines  ;  at  which,  for  the 
first  time  (for  Dicky  had  put  on  the  gravity  of  the  soldier),  he 
indulged  in  a  violent  fit  of  laughter,  and  swore,  by  Julius  Ca3sar, 
that  "  Brown  was  a  comical  dog,"  and  that  I,  in  the  part  of  a 
quack  doctor,  had  hit  upon  a  character  the  best  suited  to  my 
genius  ;  "  because,"  said  he,  "  by  Julius  Caesar,  I'll  be  hanged  if 
you'll  ever  make  a  soldier." 

Last  of  all  came  that  climax  of  wonder  and  atrocity,  my  being 
sold  to  slavery  ;  at  which  Dicky,  giving  the  reins  to  his  mirth, 
laughed  with  such  furious  energy  that  the  sorrel  nag,  who  had 
strayed  away  some  distance,  browsing,  came  trotting  and  whin- 
nying back,  as  if  to  know  what  was  the  matter.  Nor  was  he  less 
•diverted  at  my  escape,  and  the  incidents  attending  it,  especially 
that  of  the  chocolate  pot,  though  he  immediately  threw  me  into 
a  panic  by  asking  if  it  had  not  occurred  to  me  that,  in  thus  drug- 
ging it,  I  might  possibly  have  murdered  some  of  my  master's 
family,  or,  at  the  very  least,  might  bring  myself  under  a  charge 
of  an  intention  to  murder  them  ? 


236  ADVENTURES    OF 

It  was  now  Dicky's  turn  to  relate  his  adventures,  in  which  there 
was  nothing  near  so  remarkable  as  in  mine.  He  had  reached 
Philadelphia  in  safety,  where,  having  the  good  fortune  to  receive 
a  letter  from  his  father,  with  a  further  supply  of  money,  and  being 
no  longer  able  to  resist  the  inclination  to  put  on  a  soldier's  coat 
along  with  the  soldier's  spirit,  he  ordered  a  military  suit  ;  and 
when  it  was  completed,  left  the  city,  and  (as  Mr.  John  Dabs  had 
truly  informed  me)  left  it  only  a  day  before  myself.  He  had 
spurred  for  the  theatre  of  war,  but  in  vain  sought  an  opportunity  of 
measuring  his  sword  with  the  enemy,  until  his  good  fortune  car- 
ried him  to  Norfolk,  in  time  to  assist  its  brave  defenders  in  re- 
pelling the  invaders  from  their  shores.  His  company  consisted 
only  of  some  score  of  idlers  and  tatterdemalions,  supernumeraries, 
and  volunteers  in  that  particular  battle,  who,  collecting  in  a  hurry 
and  having  no  commander  of  their  own,  had  willingly  accepted 
the  martial-looking  Dicky  for  their  leader.  He  had  re- 
ceived a  wound,  a  scratch  in  the  leg,  of  which  he  was  uncertain 
whether  it  was  owing  to  a  British  bullet,  or  to  a  tumble  he  had 
had  over  a  stump,  in  the  fury  of  the  charge  ;  nevertheless,  he 
prided  himself  on  it,  as  being  the  first  hurt  received  in  the  wars. 
This  battle  began  and  ended  Dicky's  campaigns  in  Virginia  ;  for, 
saving  the  horrible  affair  at  Hampton,  three  days  after,  at  which 
he  was  not  present,  nothing  more  was  done  by  the  enemy  to  afford 
him  an  opportunity  to  display  his  valor  ;  and,  soon  after,  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  deserted  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  entirely. 

Dicky,  I  found,  was  now  on  his  way  to  the  southwest.  Troubles 
were  brewing,  he  said,  on  the  Indian  border;  and  wise  men  looked 
soon  to  see  the  chief  theatre  of  war  transferred  to  the  delta  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  either  case,  he  observed  there  would  be  plenty  of 
fighting;  "  and  where  there's  plenty  of  fighting,"  said  my  heroic 
friend,  gnawing  the  last  morsel  from  a  chicken-bone,  "  there,  sir, 
by  Julius  Caesar,  there  is  the  place  for  ine." 

I  told  him  at  once  I  would  go  along  with  him,  and  fight  the 
battles  of  my  country  at  his  side  ;  upon  which  there  arose  a  con- 
troversy between  us,  he  assuring  me  he  thought  I  was  too  big  a 
coward  for  a  soldier,  and  I  insisting,  with  heat,  that  I  had  as  much 
courage  as  he;  for,  he  knew,  I  had  as  good  as  trounced  him  a  do- 
zen times  at  school. 

"I  don't  know  any  such  thing,"  said  Dicky  Dare;  "though  I 
allow,  you  always  fought  me  spunky.  But  this  fighting  a  school- 


BGBI'N    DAY.  237 

fight,  and  this  fighting  the  battles  of  your  country — by  Julius  Cae- 
sar, they  are  quite  different  matters.  There  are  some  fellows  that 
have  great  pluck  for  a  war  of  fisticuffs,  and  will  stand  hammering 
like  old  iron ;  but  when  you  put  them  before  the  muzzle  of  a  mus- 
ket, with  a  man's  finger  at  the  trigger — or  a  park  of  artillery,  with 
the  matches  all  smoking — or  a  squadron  of  horse  drawn  up  ready 
for  charging — why  then,  by  Julius  Caesar,  these  fisticuff  bulldogs 
are  exactly  the  fellows  to  fall  all  of  a  tremble,  and  run  off  like  so 
many  rats  before  a  bull-terrier.  It's  the  seeing  one's  blood  flow, 
and  feeling  the  pain  of  a  wound,  that  tries  what  stuff  one's  liver  is 
made  of.  As  for  me,  sir,  by  Julius  Caesar,  I  have  had  an  enemy's 
bullet  through  the  leg,  without  minding  it  ! " 

"  Or  you  scratched  it  over  a  stump,  as  you  admitted  of  your 
own  accord  was  probable,"  said  I.  "And  if  you  come  to  that,  I 
have  had  a  severer  wound  than  you  ;  for  I  was  knocked  on  the 
head  with  the  butt  of  an  Irishman's  musket,  which  broke  my  head 
open,  and  I  was  laid  up  six  weeks  by  it  in  the  doctor's  hands." 

"  I  allow,"  said  Dicky  Dare,  "  you  have  had  the  hardest  knock  : 
but  how  did  you  take  it  ?  there's  the  question." 

"  I  took  it  I  don't  know  how,"  said  I,  "  for  it  knocked  me  out  of 
my  senses ;  but  all  the  sailors  said  I  was  as  brave  as  a  lion.  And  be- 
sides, if  you  come  to  that,  you  have  been  in  action  but  once  ; 
whereas  I  have  been  three  times  in  battle." 

"  But  how  did  you  go  into  battle  ?  "  demanded  Dicky  ;  "  did 
you  feel  proud,  and  happy,  and  furious,  and  all  that  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  I ;  "  I  felt  uneasy." 

"  To  be  sure  you  did  !  "  said  Dicky,  with  disdain  ;  "  and  that's 
not  the  way  a  brave  man  feels." 

"  I  have  no  doubt,"  said  I,  "  I  should  have  felt  proud,  and  happy, 
and  furious,  and  all  that,  had  I  been  on  the  right  side  ;  but,  I 
fancy,  if  you  had  been,  like  me,  fighting  against  your  country,  you 
would  have  felt  uneasy  too." 

"And  so  I  should,"  said  the  soldier,  with  generous  frankness  ; 
"  I  forgot  you  were  fighting  against  your  country  ;  which  must 
make  even  a  brave  man  a  coward.  But,  I  say,  Robin,"  he  added, 
"  by  Julius  Caesar !  you  were  so  terribly  frightened  at  all  these 
other  matters — so  frightened  about  roasting  that  old  tyrant, 
M'Goggin — frightened  at  Brown  and  the  wagoners — frightened  at 
Mr.  Bloodmoncy — frightened  at  John  Dabs,  the  constable — 
frightened  when  we  took  you  prisoner — frightened  when  you  were 


238  ADVENTURES    OF 

sold  a  slave — and,  by  Julius  Caesar,  you  are  so  frightened  now  that 
you  have  run  away  !  I  say,  by  Julius  Caesar,  I  don't  think  a  fel- 
low that  gets  frightened  so  often  can  have  the  true  grit  in  him, 
after  all." 

"Oh,"  said  I,  "Dicky,  fear  in  such  cases  is  not  cowardice. 
Every  man  is  afraid  of  getting  into  the  hands  of  the  law — of  being 
put  into  prison,  tried  for  felony,  and  perhaps  brought  to  the  gal- 
lows. In  all  these  cases,  you  must  see,  I  had  the  dangers  of  the 
law  behind  me.  With  the  wagoners  and  John  Dabs  I  was  in 
fear  of  being  carried  back  to  our  town  to  be  hanged  for  murder  ; 
with  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  of  being  imprisoned  for  house  breaking  ; 
and,  to  skip  all  other  matters,  here  I  am  now  in  fear  of  being 
pursued  as  a  runaway  slave,  or  laid  up  by  the  heels  for  a  swin- 
dler." 

"  By  Julius  Caesar,  that  does  alter  the  case,"  said  my  friend,  for 
I  recollect,  when  I  left  our  town,  I  was  afraid  myself  of  having  the 
constables  after  me,  though  I  tell  you  what,"  he  added,  with  a 
grim  look  of  fortitude,  "  before  they  should  have  taken  me,  there 
would  have  been  a  fight,  and  somebody's  brain  blown  out,  by  Ju- 
lius Caesar." 

My  ingenious  defence,  by  which  I  was  half  convinced  myself, 
satisfied  the  valorous  Dicky  that  I  was  worthy  of  his  friendship  ; 
whereupon  he  gave  me  his  hand,  and  said  I  should  follow  him  to 
the  wars.  He  bade  me  discharge  from  my  rnind  all  fear  of  Mr. 
Feverage  and  his  emissaries  ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  if  the  worst  comes, 
we  can  fight  them  off,  by  Julius  Caesar."  He  then  asked  "  how  I 
was  off  for  money,"  and  being  assured  I  had,  in  all  my  troubles, 
held  fast  to  my  pocketbook,  he  expressed  great  satisfaction,  "  for," 
said  he,  "  you  can  now  buy  a  horse  and  arms,  and  so  travel  on- 
wards like  a  soldier."  And  thereupon  he  bade  me  for  the  future 
cease  calling  him  Dicky,  like  a  great  schoolboy,  and  desired  I 
would  address  him  as  Captain  Dare  ;  "  because  why,  by  Julius 
Caesar,  he  had  on  a  captain's  uniform,  and  everybody  was  a  cap- 
tain in  Virginia." 

Inspired  by  the  presence  of  my  martial  friend,  and  refreshed  by 
the  meal,  I  now  professed  myself  able  to  resume  the  march  ; 
Dicky  very  generously  offering  me  his  horse  till  more  thoroughly 
rested,  which,  however,  I  refused.  He  therefore  mounted  the 
saddle  himself  ;  and  I  walking  at  his  side,  we  left  the  wood  and 
returned  to  the  highway. 


KOBIN    DAY.  239 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

Robin  Day  and  his  commander.  Captain  Dare,  set  out  again  for 
the  wars,  and  win  a  great  victory  along  the  way,  in  which,  as  is 
usual,  all  the  honor  and  profit  fall  to  the  commander's  share. 

We  arrived  in  a  short  time  at  the  tavern  where  Dicky,  or,  to 
give  him  his  desired  title,  Captain  Dare,  had  expected  to  take  his 
breakfast,  and  where  he  now  for  a  moderate  sum  succeeded  in 
purchasing  me  a  pony  that  would  serve  my  turn,  though  he  was 
but  a  sorry  nag  after  all.  And  having  again  set  out  on  our  jour- 
ney, Captain  Dare  proposed  I  should  give  him,  as  was  proper  for 
a  soldier's  charger,  some  handsome  name ;  informing  me  at  the 
same  time  that  he  called  his  sorrel  steed  Bucephalus,  after  the 
war-horse  of  Alexander  the  Great.  I  proposed  dubbing  mine 
Hard-Back,  which  I  considered  expressive  of  one  of  his  most  strik- 
ing qualities,  but  Dicky  demurred,  insisting  that  that  was  a  vulgar 
and  unmilitary  title  ;  and  I  agreeing,  at  last,  he  might  bestow 
upon  him  what  title  he  pleased,  he  named  him  Pegasus,  "  which," 
he  said,  "  was  the  name  of  the  horse  ridden  by  the  great  general, 
Perseus,  when  he  slew  the  Centaurs."  Without  venturing  a  hint 
to  Pegasus's  godfather,  that  his  clas>ic  reminiscences  were  none  of 
the  most  accurate,  and  that  the  steed  of  the  Muses  was  dishonored 
by  carrying  such  an  insignificant  and  unpoetic  personage  as  I,  I 
accepted  the  name,  and  Bucephalus  and  Pegasus  pricked  forward 
with  their  riders  in  peace. 

We  reached  and  dined  that  day  at  a  village,  where  Captain 
Dicky,  who  took  the  charge  though  not  the  cost  of  equipping  me 
into  his  own  hands,  bought  me  a  rifle,  (which,  he  said,  was  the 
properest  weapon  for  a  soldier  going  to  fight  the  Indians)  with  a 
powder  horn,  scalping  knife,  and  other  articles  appropriate  to  a 
backwoodsman  ;  and  I  adding,  at  my  own  instance,  a  hunting  frock 
of  light  summer  stuff,  a  brace  of  cotton  checked  shirts,  and  some 
other  articles  of  apparel  of  which  I  was  in  want,  I  was  presently 
trigged  out  to  my  own  satisfaction  as  well  as  Captain  Dare's. 


240  ADVENTURES     OF 

And  now  our  journey  was  commenced  in  earnest,  and  continued 
during  a  space  of  more  than  two  weeks,  with  all  the  zeal  to  be 
expected  of  two  such  gallant  adventurers,  and  with  as  much  speed 
as  the  nature  of  the  country,  which  was  full  of  savage  mountains, 
and  the  strength  of  Bucephalus  and  Pegasus,  who  rivalled  one 
another  in  laziness,  would  permit.  And  during  all  that  time,  such 
was  the  lenity  of  our  fortunes,  we  met  not  a  single  adventure 
worth  recording  ;  though  I  must  confess  to  a  fright  I  received  by 
stumbling,  at  a  village  inn,  upon  a  newspaper,  in  which,  under  the 
caption  of  '*  Stop  the  Villain,"  was  an  advertisement  subscribed  by 
my  late  master,  Mr.  Fabius  Maximus  Feverage,  offering  a  reward 
for  the  capture  of  the  slave  Chowder  Chow,  who  had  absconded 
after  an  atrocious  attempt  to  poison  his  master's  family  with 
opium.  But  the  terror  was  only  momentary  ;  I  was  growing 
valiant  under  the  countenance  of  my  valiant  friend,  and  once 
parted  from  and  out  of  sight  of  the  inn  that  contained  the  detesta- 
ble paper,  I  declared  that  Mr.  Fabius  Maximus  Feverage,  with  his 
advertisement,  might  go  to — a  certain  personage  who  shall  be 
nameless,  and  snapped  my  fingers  in  token  of  my  disdain. 

The  end  of  the  second  week  of  our  travels  saw  us  upon  the 
rentiers  of  Tennessee,  and  we  had  scarce  crossed  them  when  we  dis- 
covered that  we  were  already  upon  the  eve  of  great  adventures. 
News  had  just  reached  this  secluded  district  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Indian  war,  which  my  comrade  and  captain  had  so 
confidently  anticipated — of  the  horrible  catastrophe,  the  Massacre 
at  Fort  Mimms  on  the  Alabama  River,  by  which  it  was  opened, 
and  in  which,  as  is  well  known,  more  than  four  hundred  human 
beings,  half  of  them  women  and  children,  the  families  of  poor 
settlers,  fell  under  the  Creek  tomahawk  at  a  blow. 

This  dreadful  intelligence,  spreading  fast  among  the  inhabitants 
of  this  wild  mountain  country,  had  created  the  greatest  excite- 
ment among  them.  Some,  the  young  and  manly,  burned  with 
fury,  and  swore  they  were  only  waiting  the  movements  of  the 
proper  authorities,  the  proclamation  of  their  Governor  and  the 
commands  of  their  military  leaders,  of  which  they  were  in  daily 
expectation,  to  snatch  their  arms,  march  upon  the  bloodthirsty 
barbarians,  and  sweep  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Others, 
again,  were  in  a  horrible  panic  on  their  own  account  ;  for  though 
the  Creeks  were  afar  off,  the  Cherokees  were  their  near  neighbors, 
and  might  be  upon  them,  murdering  and  destroying,  at  any  mo- 


KOBIN    DAY.  241 

ment.  It  is  true,  the  Cherokees  were  then,  as  they  had  been  for 
many  years,  and,  in  fact,  continued  during  the  whole  of  the  en- 
suing war,  the  friends  of  the  whites  ;  but  they  were  Indians ;  and, 
in  the  logic  of  fear,  nothing  was  more  natural  ^than  to  suppose 
they  would  join  their  red  brethern  in  the  contest. 

The  further  we  advanced,  the  greater  seemed  the  ferment,, 
which  was  attended,  and  augmented,  by  rumors  of  the  most  por- 
tentious  character.  It  was  now  reported  that  the  savages,  uniting 
in  innumerable  hordes,  had  destroyed  the  great  city  of  New  Or- 
leans, and  roasted  all  the  sugar-planters  in  their  own  boilers  ;  and 
that  they  were,  besides,  marching  upon  the  capital  of  Tennesseer 
with  the  fairest  prospects  of  carrying  off  the  scalps  of  the  whole 
body  of  Legislators,  then  in  conclave  ;  and  now  there  was  a  cry 
that  the  Cherokees  had  taken  up  the  hatchet,  and  were  already 
killing  and  burning  in  their  own  neighborhood.  Iji  short,  the  ex- 
citement was  prodigious,  and  it  extended  to  Captain  Dare  and  his 
follower  ;  exhibiting,  in  the  one,  that  warlike  fury  which  distin- 
guished the  bolder  portion  of  society,  and  the  other,  I  am  ashamed 
to  say,  a  little  of  the  panic  that  marked  the  less  heroic  division. 

But  what  may  not  a  great  military  genius  effect  even  upon  the 
worst  of  materials  ?  The  fervor  of  Captain  Dare  dissipated  the 
doubts  and  uneasiness  of  my  mind  ;  I  caught  a  spark  of  his  am- 
bition ;  and  was  infected  with  the  audacity  of  spirit  which  con- 
temned danger,  derided  wounds,  and  thought  of  battle  only  as 
the  stepping  stone  to  victory  and  renown.  Hot  for  the  conflict, 
we  spurred — or  rather,  Dicky  spurred,  and  I  pommelled  with  my 
heels,  for  I  had  no  spurs, — the  snorting  Bucephalus  and  the  grunt- 
ting  Pegasus,  (for  Pegasus  was  broken-winded,)  to  hasten  our  ap- 
proach to  the  theatre  of  war  ;  and  along  the  way  we  devised  a 
hundred  stratagems  by  which  the  enemy  was  to  be  defeated,  and 
ourselves  raised  to  the  pinnacle  of  fame.  Dicky  talked  strongly 
of  raising  a  company — nay,  his  thoughts  sometimes  rose  to  a  regi- 
ment— of  mounted  riflemen,  along  the  way  ;  which,  received  (asr 
considering  the  urgency  of  the  occasion,  he  had  no  doubt  it  would 
be),  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  would  secure  him  at 
once  a  commission,  and  that  power  and  consideration  among  men 
of  the  steel,  of  which  he  was  so  ambitious.  He  even  made  at- 
tempts to  persuade  several  valiant  persons  we  met  at  the  inns  and 
farmhouses,  where  we  stopped  to  bait  or  sleep,  to  follow  his  ban- 
ner to  the  wars  ;  but  the  hurry  of  our  progress,  which  left  no  time 


242  ADVENTURES    OF 

for  persuasion,  interfered  with  his  success  ;  not  to  speak  of  the 
disinclination  of  even  the  bravest  and  most  patriotic  to  go  a  sol- 
diering under  a  commander  whom  they  had  never  seen  before,  who 
bore  no  commission  either  from  State  or  National  Government,  and 
whose  military  chest  did  not  allow  of  any  bounty  beyond  a  glass 
of  grog. 

But  fate,  which  had  created  Dicky  for  a  leader,  willed  that  he 
should  have  a  command,  notwithstanding,  and  that  he  should 
achieve  it  by  his  own  valor. 

It  happened,  one  day  about  noon,  as  we  were  pricking  along  the 
road,  that,  at  a  solitary  place  at  the  bottom  of  a  hill,  we  stumbled 
suddenly  upon  a  company  of  volunteers,  who  had  that  morning, 
in  such  a  fit  of  warlike  enthusiasm  as  inflamed  Dicky  Dare  and 
myself,  set  out  from  their  native  village,  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  off,  intending  to  offer  their  services  to  the  commanding  gen- 
eral of  the  district,  and  who,  their  dinner  hour  having  arrived,  had 
halted,  like  veterans,  to  discuss  their  bacon  and  hominy  upon  the 
road,  disdaining  to  seek  the  ordinary  luxuries  of  shelter.  They 
had  halted  like  veterans,  but  they  had  not  troubled  themselves  to 
form  a  camp,  or  establish  sentinels,  or  do  any  thing  else  in  a  vet- 
eran-like manner.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  scattered  about  in 
a  very  disorderly  harum-scarum  way,  divided  into  groups,  which 
were  so  distributed  that  when  we  came  in  view  there  were  only 
four  persons  of  the  whole  company  to  be  seen,  and  these  sitting 
around  a  fire,  where  they  were  broiling  their  dinner  and  enjoying 
themselves. 

I  know  not  whether  it  was  on  account  of  their  hunting-shirts, 
which  they  had  newly  bedizened  for  the  wars  with  colored  tapes 
and  fringes,  or  for  whatever  reason ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  valiant 
Dicky  caught  sight  of  them,  than  he  swore  by  Julius  Caesar  they 
were  Indians,  and  therefore  enemies  ;  and  proposed,  as  they  were 
only  four  in  number,  that  we  should  make  war  upon  them  ;  "  for," 
said  he,  with  a  tremendous  look  of  slaughter,  "  we  can  take  them 
by  surprise,  and  shoot  down  three  at  the  first  crack — you,  one 
with  your  rifle,  I  two  with  my  pistols ;  and  then  charge  upon 
them  ;  and  I  answer  for  the  other  fellow  with  my  sabre  ;" — for 
so  he  called  the  cut-and-thrust. 

I  cannot  say  I  had  the  greatest  appetite  for  such  an  encounter, 
and,  indeed,  my  natural  impulse  was  to  turn  Pegasus  the  other 
way,  and  beat  an  instant  retreat.  But  the  fire  of  Dicky  prevailed 


ROBIN    DAY.  243 

over  my  hesitation ;  and  following  him  into  the  wood,  that  we  might 
approach  the  enemy  unobserved,  we  succeeded  in  reaching  within 
a  hundred  paces  of  them  ;  at  which  distance  we  let  fly  our  fire- 
arms, and  then  charged  upon  them  at  full  speed. 

Who  can  calculate  the  effects  of  resolution  ?  The  surprise,  the 
terrible  volley,  (by  which,  however,  no  one  was  harmed),  and 
our  furious  charge,  secured  us  an  immediate,  victory.  The  four 
enemies  started  to  their  feet,  and,  marvellous  to  be  said,  a  score 
more  to  the  back  of  them  ;  who,  leaping  into  view  from  among 
the  bushes  which  had  concealed  them  from  our  sight,  fled  away, 
with  yells  of  astonishment  and  terror  ;  some  jumping  upon  their 
horses,  which  were  haltered  around  a  tree,  others  flying  on  foot, 
but  all  doing  their  best  to  escape  the  danger  that  had  so  suddenly 
fallen  upon  them.  The  rout  was  irretrievable,  the  victory  com- 
plete ;  but  just  as  we  had  effected  it  we  made  the  discovery  that 
our  supposed  Indians  were  all  white  men ;  and  they  making  the 
same  discovery  in  regard  to  us,  whom  they  had  taken  for  a  band 
of  five  hundred  Cherokees  just  bursting  into  war,  they  returned 
to  their  camp — at  least,  the  majority  of  them  did,  the  others 
having  continued  their  flight  all  the  way  back  to  their  native  vil- 
lage— burning  with  shame  and  rage  ;  and,  for  a  few  moments,  I 
thought  they  would  have  murdered  Dicky  and  me,  so  much  did 
they  take  to  heart  our  bloody-minded  assault,  and  their  own  dis- 
graceful retreat. 

But  a  revolution  soon  took  place  in  their  feelings  ;  they  admired 
the  surprising  courage  of  their  conqueror,  who  could  rush  into 
battle  so  regardless  of  odds,  and  his  handsome  uniform  won  their 
hearts  ;  and  when,  after  a  little  explanation,  they  found  that  Dicky 
was  a  volunteer  for  the  Indian  Wars,  like  themselves,  and  that  he 
was  fresh  from  the  battle  fields  of  Virginia — that  he  had  seen  the 
red-coats  and  fought  them — ay,  and  beat  them  too — they  fell  into 
a  rapture,  and  immediately  offered  to  elect  him  their  captain, 
which  they  were  the  more  able  to  do,  as  their  own  commander,  the 
first  to  fly,  had  now  entirely  disappeared,  and  was  never  more 
heard  of.  To  this  proposal  there  was  but  one  dissenting  voice, 
— that  of  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  company,  who  insisted  upon  his 
right  to  succeed  to  the  command.  But  his  obstinacy  was  immedi- 
ately overcome  by  one  of  the  company,  who,  indignant  that  an  offi- 
cer of  volunteers  should  presume  to  oppose  the  will  of  his  follow- 
ers, fell  foul  of  him  and  gave  hem  a  tremendous  drubbing  ;  where- 


:244  ADVENTURES    OF 


upon  he  threw  up  his  commission  in  disgust,  and    mounting   his 
horse,  followed  after  his  runaway  superior. 

I  had,  on  my  part,  some  hopes  of  being  preferred  to  this  second 
office,  as  I  also  had  seen  the  red-coats,  and  fought  among  them, 
as  well  as  Captain  Dare,  though,  to  be  sure,  not  on  the  same  side  ; 
but  as  I  had  no  handsome  uniform,  as  I  had  not  perhaps  preserved 
quite  so  bold  a  front  as  Dicky,  at  the  moment  when  the  enraged 
warriors  were  upon  the  point  of  blowing  our  brains  out,  and  above 
all,  as  I  had  not  the  same  good  luck  as  my  companion,  I  was  des- 
tined to  be  disappointed.  The  lieutenant's  seat  was  filled  by  the 
intrepid  fellow  who  had  just  flogged  him  out  of  it  ;  and  I,  finding 
I  could  do  nothing  better,  was  content  to  be  admitted  a  private 
member  of  the  band,  of  which  Dicky  Dare  was  unanimausly 
•elected  captain. 


EOB1X   DAY.  245 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

The   Bloody    Volunteers  arrive  at  the  field  of  battle,  and  acquire 
distinction  under  the  command  of  Captain  Dare. 

THIS  important  business  finished,  and  order  restored,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  despatch  the  dinner  we  had  interrupted,  and  soon  after 
resumed  the  march,  Captain  Dicky  Dare  riding  in  great  state  at 
the  head  of  his  company,  which,  originally  got  up  in  the  hurry 
and  enthusiasm  of  the  moment  had  never  numbered  more  than 
twenty-seven  men  and  was  now  reduced  to  nineteen  including 
Captain  Dare  and  myself.  But  Captain  Dare,  before  he  reached 
the  battle-field,  had,  by  dint  of  energy  and  eloquence,  managed 
to  increase  its  numbers  by  the  addition  of  some  ten  or  a 
dozen  ambitious  lads,  whom  he,  at  different  times,  seduced  to 
join  his  standard. 

In  truth,  the  Bloody  Volunteers — f  or  such  was  the  sounding  name 
the  company  had  assumed,  even  at  the  starting — had  sealed  their 
own  good  fortune  in  electing  Dicky  Dare  their  commander.  His 
courage  and  great  experience  in  war — for  the  victory  at  Craney 
Island  was,  in  their  apprehension,  equivalent  to  a  whole  life  of  bat- 
tle— inspired  them  with  a  fortitude  akin  to  his  own  ;  while  his  he- 
roic bearing  at  their  head,  and  especially  his  address  in  providing 
supplies,  and  ministering  to  their  wants  on  the  road,  prodigiously 
increased  his  popularity. 

The  dinner  on  the  road-side  had  pretty  well  exhausted  the 
rations  laid  by  the  Bloody  Volunteers  ;  who,  forming  a  sort 
of  guerilla  or  independent  troop,  attached  to  no  particular 
regiment  of  their  district,  and  acting  without  any  authority, 
began  to  be  doubtful,  as  the  supper  hour  drew  nigh,  in  what  man- 
ner,and  at  whose  expense,  the  needful  provender  was  to  be  obtained; 
and  these  doubts  became  the  more  distressing,  when  an  unpa- 
triotic tavern-keeper  on  the  road-side,  at  whose  house  we  sought 
refreshment,  swore  "  he  would  be  hanged  if  there  was  a  man  of 
us  should  have  supper  without  paying  for  it." 


246  ADVENTURES    OF 

Captain  Dare  solved  the  difficulty  in  a  moment,  by  ordering  a 
file  of  men  into  the  pig-pen,  where  they  slew  a  pig  and  a  dozen 
chickens,  and  then  by  taking  military  possession  of  the  kitchen, 
where  the  spoils  were  prepared  for  supper.  Another  file  was  de- 
spatched to  the  barn,  to  find  quarters  and  provender  for  our 
chargers. 

In  short,  Captain  Dare  acted  as  if  he  knew  what  he  was  about ;  to 
prove  which,  next  morning,  having  first  given  me  to  understand  that 
he  appointed  me  his  military  secretary,  he  bade  me  draw  out  a  bill 
against  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  in  favor  of  Mr.  Tobias 
Small,  the  innkeeper,  for  the  pig,  chickens,  horse-meat,  and  night's 
lodging  of  the  company,  which  I  did  ;  and  he  immediately  append- 
ed the  important  order, — "  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  pay  the 
above," — signed  "  Richard  Dare,  Capt.  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers 
of  Tennessee,  now  in  service  of  the  United  States,"  and  handed  it 
over  to  Mr.  Tobias  Small,  with  a  magnificent — There,  you  dog  ! 
there's  an  order  upon  the  Government  :  send  it  to  the  Treasury 
and  get  your  money  !" 

Our  breakfast  was  paid  for  with  a  similar  order  ;  and  so  was  our 
dinner,  but  with  this  difference,  that  the  order  was  now  addressed  to 
the  Treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Tennessee  ;  because  we 
had  learned  from  a  mail-courier  on  the  road  that  the  Governor  of 
the  State  had  at  length  issued  his  proclamation,  calling  out  the 
militia,  and  empowering  the  commanding  officers  of  the  State  army 
to  receive  and  enroll  all  the  mounted  riflemen  who  might  offer 
their  patriotic  services  ; — news  vastly  relished  by  the  Bloody 
Volunteers  and  their  warlike  captain. 

With  a  soveriegn  State  to  back  us,  there  were  no  longer  difficul- 
ties to  hinder  us  on  the  march  ;  and  in  a  few  days  more  we  ar- 
rived at  the  town  of  Knoxville,  the  headquarters  of  the  General-in- 
Chief  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Tennessee  ;  where  the  Bloody 
Volunteers  were  immediately  received  into  the  service  of  the 
State,  and  incorporated  with  a  regiment  of  mounted  men,  all  as 
ardent  and  bloody-minded  as  ourselves.  And  here  we  remained  a 
short  time,  until  all  the  forces  of  the  division  required  for  the  war 
were  mustered  ;  after  which,  we  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  the 
Indian  country. 

This  period  of  rest — but  rest  not  to  us — was,  I  may  say,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  campaign  to  the  Bloody  Volunteers  ;  the  history  of 
whose  adventures  on  the  march  to  headquarters,  and  especially 


ROBIN   DAY.  247 

the  attack  by  Captain  Dare  and  their  consequent  rout,  with  his 
immediate  election  to  the  command,  having  leaked  out  in  the  reg- 
iment, became  the  theme  of  many  witty  remarks,  that  were  not, 
however,  at  all  agreeable  either  to  the  commander  or  his  men. 
But  the  former  knew  how  to  support  his  dignity  as  an  officer,  as 
well  as  the  dignity  of  the  company  he  had  the  honor  to  command; 
and,  accordingly,  the  day  after  our  introduction  to  the  regiment, 
he  pulled  the  nose  of  a  brother  captain  who  spoke  disparagingly 
of  the  company,  and  challenged  him,  in  addition,  to  fight  a  duel  ; 
and  the  challenge  being  immediately  accepted,  and  the  duel 
fought,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  shoot  his  adversary  through 
the  leg,  which  was  the  very  place  he  aimed  <at,  because  the  gen- 
tleman had  too  freely  commended  the  legs  of  his  company. 

This  spirited  vindication  of  their  honor  endeared  Captain  Dicky 
still  more  to  his  company  ;  and  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  taking  ex- 
ample from  their  leader,  turned  in  like  manner  upon  a  brother 
company,  who  were  pleased  to  crack  similar  jokes  at  their  expense; 
and  immediately  there  was  a  battle  royal  between  the  two,  the 
fight  being  waged  furiously  with  fists  and  feet  for  two  mortal 
hours  ;  at  which  period  victory  declared  in  our  favor,  though  it 
was  a  victory  dearly  won.  Indeed,  the  colonel  of  the  regiment 
declared,  next  day  at  parade,  he  had  never  before  seen  so  many 
black  eyes  together  in  all  his  life. 

This  double  triumph  somewhat  abated  the  humor  of  our  ad- 
versaries ;  but  we  did  not  entirely  escape  their  gibes,  even  when 
we  marched,  as  we  at  last  did,  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  were 
immersed  in  the  business  of  war. 

The  history  of  the  Creek  Campaign,  to  which  the  victories  of 
General  Jackson,  commanding  the  forces  of  the  Western  District 
of  Tennessee,  gave  such  brilliant  eclat,  is  well  known  to  every 
citizen  of  the  United  States ;  and  it  is  not  therefore  necessary 
that  I,  who  played  in  it  so  subordinate  a  part,  should  attempt  to 
relate  it  to  the  reader.  My  business  is  with  the  history  of  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  whose  valiant  achievements,  owing  to  some 
unaccountable  neglect,  have  been  entirely  overlooked  by  the  his- 
torians of  the  campaign.  And  this  is  the  more  extraordinary,  as 
the  actions  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  were,  with  but  a  single 
exception,  the  only  ones  performed  by  the  Eastern  Division  worthy 
of  commemoration.  Our  General,  marching  through  the  country 
of  the  Cherokees,  who,  notwithstanding  the  fears  at  first  enter- 


248  ADVENTURES     OF 

tained  of  their  martial  inclinings,  remained  firm  and  faithful 
friends  during  the  war,  established  his  camp  on  the  Coosa  River, 
on  the  boarders  of  the  Creek  territory,  and  there  remained  I  know 
not  how  long,  (for  it  was  my  fate  soon  to  part  from  him,)  doing  I 
know  riot  what,  unless  holding  councils  of  war  and  digesting 
plans  of  conquest  ;  while  his  rival  of  the  Western  Division,  with- 
out troubling  himself  to  do  either,  was  already  carrying  sword 
and  flame  to  the  enemy's  wigwams.  The  victory  of  Jackson  at 
Talladcga,  one  of  the  Indian  towns,  fired  the  emulous  spirits  of 
our  own  troops,  and  perhaps  the  envy  of  our  commander  ;  who, 
wakening  at  length  to  life  and  ambition,  detached  a  brigade  with 
orders  to  march  against  another  Creek  village  or  cluster  of  villa- 
ges, called  the  Hillabee  towns,  and  win  him  a  similar  victory.  It 
was  the  good  fortune  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  to  form  a  part  of 
this  detachment. 

The  march  from  headquarters  to  the  scene  of  action,  distant 
about  a  hundred  miles,  occupied  us  a  week;  during  which  the 
Bloody  Volunteers  had  the  honor  of  being  constantly  employed 
on  the  most  important  and  critical  duties.  Sometimes  we  were 
sent  off  to  burn  little  hamlets  of  deserted  wigwams — villages  pro- 
per to  be  destroyed,  though  too  insignificant  to  demand  the  pres- 
ence of  the  brigade  ;  but,  more  frequently,  we  were  employed  as 
a  scouting  party,  to  beat  the  woods  in  advance,  look  for  trails  and 
stray  squaws,  from  whom  to  glean  intelligence  of  the  foe,  and 
perform  other  similar  services. 

This  honor — for  so  our  superiors  told  us  we  must  esteem  it — 
we  owed,  in  a  great  measure,  to  Captain  Dicky,  whose  decided 
military  genius,  his  zeal  and  activity,  his  intrepidity,  and,  perhaps, 
his  experience  in  battle,  had  recommended  him  to  the  notice  of  the 
brigadier;  but,  I  believe,  we  owed  it  in  a  still  greater  degree  to 
the  troublesome  valor  of  his  men,  who  had  grown  so  proud  of 
their  victory  in  the  melee  of  which  I  have  spoken,  that  they  were 
now  always  ready  to  go  to  battle  with  any  of  their  comrades  who 
reminded  them,  as  some  were  always  willing  enough  to  do,  of 
their  adventures  on  the  march  to  headquarters:  and  such  affrays 
were  now  become  dangerous,  because  Dicky  Dare  had  succeeded 
in  obtaining  permission  to  arm  his  men  with  swords,  to  be  able  to 
act  when  occasion  required  as  cavalry,  which  they  took  a  great 
pride  in  wearing,  and  showed  much  inclination  to  use  in  their  pri- 
vate bickerings.  To  keep  the  brigade,  or,  at  least  our  regiment, 


ROBIN    DAY.  249 

from  being  continually  at  loggerheads,  it  was  necessary  to  keep 
the  Bloody  Volunteers  at  a  distance  from  their  brothers  in  arms. 

This  was  a  happy  circumstance  for  Captain  Dare,  who  thus  ob- 
tained a  kind  of  independent  command,  the  most  agreeable  to  his 
lofty  spirit.  Free  from  restraint,  left  half  the  time  to  his  own  re- 
sources and  judgment,  and  feeling  within  himself  that  conscious- 
ness of  greatness  which  inspires  the  destined  hero,  he  longed  for 
independence  still  greater,  for  a  yet  wider  field  of  action,  for  a 
still  braver  opportunity  of  winning  his  way  to  distinction.  He 
wished — for  to  me,  his  friend  and  secretary,  he  revealed  his 
thoughts — he  wished  the  President  of  the  United  States  would 
make  him  a  major-general,  and  confide  to  him  the  two  divisions 
of  the  Tennessee  army,  with  the  task  of  conquering  the  Creeks; 
which  he  thought  he  could  do  in  a  much  more  rapid  and  glorious 
way  than  any  body  else;  and  then  he  sighed  to  think  he  was 
only  a  militia  captain. 

But  Dicky  was  too  old  a  soldier  to  omit  making  the  best  of  his 
present  circumstances  ;  and  while  executing  every  duty  assigned 
him  with  a  zeal  that  ensured  approval,  he  took  means  gradually  to 
increase  the  numbers  of  his  company,  by  soliciting  occasional  rein- 
forcements from  among  our  Indian  allies — for  we  had  many  friend- 
ly Indians  among  us,  fighting  their  own  countrymen — whom,  he 
assured  his  superiors,  he  could  employ  to  advantage.  Some  of 
these  painted  barbarians,  in  fact,  always  accompanied  us  in  our  ex- 
peditions, as  guides  and  spies ;  but  Captain  Dare  would  have  had 
an  army  of  them,  though  he  never  succeeded  in  permanently  at- 
taching more  than  eighteen  or  twenty  of  them  to  his  company. 

But  with  even  this  slight  addition,  bywhich  the  force  of  the 
Bloody  Volunteers  was  increased  to  about  forty  men,  Dicky 
began  to  have  great  thoughts,  and  entertained  the  hope  of  finding, 
or  making,  some  opportunity  of  fighting  a  battle  and  winning  a 
victory  on  his  own  account  ;  "  for,"  as  he  justly  remarked  to  me 
in  private,  "  the  brigade  might  win  twenty  victories  and,  by  Julius 
Caesar,  as  a  militia  captain,  be  none  the  better  for  any  of  them." 
It  was  a  lucky  thing  for  our  brigadier  that,  in  the  battle  which  we 
soon  after  had  at  the  Hillabee  towns,  Dicky  Dare,  though  but  a 
militia  captain,  had  only  forty  men  under  his  particular  command  ; 
for,  otherwise,  he  undoubtedly  would  have  snatched  the  victory  en- 
tirely into  his  own  hands. 

We  arrived,   the  evening  preceding  the    attack,  within  a  few 


250  ADVENTURES    OF 

miles  of  the  village,  undiscovered  ;  and,  early  the  following  morn- 
ing, marched  against  it,  our  forces  being  so  distributed  as  nearly, 
if  not  entirely,  to  surround  it.  The  Bloody  Volunteers  were,  as 
usual,  assigned  to  the  post  of  honor  and  danger  ;  taking  a  position 
beyond  the  village,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of 
fugitives,  who,  flying  from  the  brigade,  would  most  naturally  run 
into  our  clutches. 

In  such  a  position,  it  may  be  supposed,  we  could  have  had  our 
hands  sufficiently  full  of  business,  destroying  fugitives  and  picking 
up  prisoners.  But  the  ambition  of  Captain  Dare  disdained  the 
inglorious  task  of  finishing  the  work  of  others  ;  and  so  he  had  no 
sooner  arrived  at  his  post,  whence,  from  among  the  trees  and  bushes, 
we  could  see  the  scattered  wigwams  of  the  Indians,  looking  all  in 
peace  and  quiet,  as  if  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  a  foe,  than 
he  came  to  a  resolution  to  open  the  attack  himself,  and,  if 
possible,  carry  the  place  before  the  arrival  of  his  general.  And  he 
was  just  on  the  point  of  ordering  us  to  dismount  for  the  purpose, 
when,  fortunately  for  the  fame  of  the  latter,  the  assault  was  sud- 
denly begun  by  his  superiors  on  the  other  side  of  the  village,  and, 
in  an  instant,  the  village  became  the  theatre  of  tumult  and  conflict. 
A  thousand  muskets  and  rifles  were  heard  roaring  through  the 
woods  ;  and  with  them  was  mingled  the  din  of  the  Indian  halloo, 
the  wild  scream  that  freezes  the  blood  of  those  unaccustomed  to  it, 
and  gives  at  once  so  peculiar,  and  I  may  say  demoniacal,  a  charac- 
ter to  an  Indian  battle.  Certainly,  those  horrible  yells,  that  seemed 
to  express  the  fury  of  devils  let  loose  upon  a  newly  arrived 
company  of  condemned  spirits,  turned  pale  the  cheecks  even  of 
the  Bloody  Volunteers  ;  but  when  Dicky  Dare,  to  reassure  us, 
cried,  "  Courage,  my  brave  fellows — remember,  an  Indian  screech 
is  neither  a  tomahawk  nor  a  rifle-bullet !  "  the  color  returned,  and 
they  all  d — d  their  souls,  like  veterans  of  ten  years  service,  and 
swore  "  they  valued  an  Injun  war-whoop  no  more  than  the  squeak 
of  a  stuck  pig  at  Christmas.  " 

At  this  moment  a  band  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  warriors,  at 
whose  wild  appearance  I  felt  some  very  extraordinary  sensations, 
and  especially  a  tingling  at  the  top  of  my  head,  as  if  the  scalping 
knife  were  already  at  work  at  it,  were  seen  running  towards  us  ; 
upon  which,  at  Dicky's  orders,  leaping  from  our  horses  before  they 
had  yet  discovered  us,  and  imitating  our  Indian  adherents  by 
covering  our  bodies  behind  trees  and  the  thickest  bushes,  we  gave 


KOBE*     DAY.  251 

them  a  volley,  by  which  a  number  were  killed,  and  the  rest  thrown 
into  the  greatest  disorder.  "  Load  again,  my  lads,  and  let  'em  have 
another  touch,  by  Julius  Caesar  !"  cried  Captain  Dare  ;  which  we 
did,  and  with  such  good  effect  that  the  savages,  who  had  rallied 
and  were  now  rushing  against  us  with  great  apparent  courage, 
were  again  brought  to  a  stop  ;  whereupon  Captain  Dicky  immedi- 
ately exclaimed,  with  irrepressible  ardor,  "  Now,  by  Julius  Cae- 
sar !  now's  the  time  ;  mount,  my  boys,  and  we'll  finish  them  with 
our  sabres !" 

The  blood  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  was  fully  up,  and  they 
were  now  equal  to  any  enterprise.  So  we  mounted  our  horses 
and  rushed  upon  the  disordered  and  now  retreating  Indians  with 
our  swords,  charging  them  into  the  village,  of  which  we  should  un- 
doubtedly have  taken  immediate  possession  had  it  not  been  for  a 
tremendous  discharge  of  bullets  shot  by  a  regiment  or  two  of  our 
own  friends,  who  were  also  marching  into  it,  and  were  too  busy  to 
inquire  who  they  were  shooting  at.  "Leave  the  horses,"  quoth 
Captain  Dare,  "  and  pursue  the  fugitives."  We  obeyed  the  order 
and  again  dashed  after  the  band  of  savages,  whom  we  had  driven 
.so  far,  and  who  were  now  making  off  in  the  forest,  which  was,  for  the 
most  part,  sufficiently  open  to  allow  of  the  operations  of  cavalry 
on  a  small  scale.  The  fugitives  were  soon  brought  to  bay,  and, 
scattering  they  took  refuge  behind  the  trees,  and  gave  us  so  warm 
a  fire  that  we  were  compelled  to  dismount  and  fight  them  in  the 
same  manner  ;  when  our  Indian  allies,  whom  he  had  distanced,  com- 
ing at  last  to  our  aid,  so  that  we  became  superior  in  numbers,  our 
intrepid  captain  ordered  us  to  close  upon  them,  which  we  did,  and 
they  again  took  to  flight.  We  followed  them  thus  for  several 
miles,  killing  several  of  them,  and  doubtless  wounding  many 
more  ;  but  by  and  by  they  had  all  made  their  escape,  and  we  re- 
turned to  the  village,  which,  with  a  great  number  of  squaws  and 
•children,  and  some  old  men,  was  now  in  the  hands  of  our  forces. 


252  ADVENTURES     OF 


CHAPTER  XLY. 

Captain  Dare,  at  the  head  of  his  Bloody  Volunteers,  wins  new 
laurels  by  the  storm  and  capture  of  an  Indian  milage. 

THE  valor  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  was  favorably  noticed  by 
the  General,  who  complimented  Captain  Dare  for  his  good  con- 
duct ;  and,  what  delighted  the  latter  infinitely  more,  gave  him  or- 
ders, after  refreshing  his  men,  to  proceed  with  them  and  an  addi- 
tional body  of  fifty  friendly  Indians  whom  he  put  under  his  com- 
mand, along  the  creek  (a  branch  of  the  Tallapoosa  River),  on 
which  the  Hillabee  towns  stood,  to  destroy  all  the  scattered  wig- 
wams he  might  come  across. 

Captain  Dicky  immediately  set  out,  and  the  wigwams  were 
given  to  the  flames  through  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  young  captain  might  now 
have  returned  in  triumph  to  the  army.  But  with  such  a  powerful 
force,  which  our  red  allies  swelled  to  nearly  a  hundred  men,  at  his 
command,  Captain  Dare  felt  it  impossible  to  return  to  the  camp 
without  having  performed  some  exploit  worthier  of  fame  than  the 
burning  of  a  dozen  cabins  of  bark  and  logs  ;  and  hearing  from  the 
Indians  that  there  was  a  small  village  of  the  enemy  some  seven  or 
eight  miles  further  down  the  creek,  where  it  was  probable  the 
Hillabee  fugitives  would  seek  refuge,  he  immediately  resolved  to 
stretch  his  discretionery  powers  so  far  as  to  march  against  it,  and 
immortalize  his  name  by  its  immediate  destruction.  This  the 
Indians,  who,  to  give  them  their  due,  were  as  fond  of  a  little  inde- 
pendent burning  and  killing  as  Dicky  himself,  represented  as  a 
feat  neither  difficult  nor  dangerous  ;  and  the  Captain,  haranguing 
the  Bloody  Volunteers,  and  representing  the  immmortal  honor 
they  had  it  in  their  power  to  achieve,  they  unanimously  agreed, 
with  great  swearing,  they  would  follow  him  to  that  Indian  town 
or  any  other  he  pleased,  and  kill  all  the  warriors  and  take  all  the 
squaws  prisoners. 

We  set  out  accordingly,  and  by  nightfall  had  come  to  a  hill 


ROBIN    DAY.  253 

within  a  mile  of  the  devoted  village,  and  overlooking  it ;  and  here 
the  Indians  proposed  we  should  encamp  for  the  night,  and  surprise 
the  town  next  morning  at  dawn,  according  to  the  usual  Indian 
mode  of  attack.  But  Captain  Dare,  too  impetuous  or  too  saga- 
cious to  waste  time  in  delay,  was  resolved  to  commence  the  as- 
sault immediately  ;  he  represented  that  the  fugitives  were 
now  weary  with  flight,  and  overcome  with  panic,  and  might, 
therefore,  be  more  advantageously  assailed  than  in  the  morning, 
after  having  refreshed  their  bodies  and  recovered  their  spirits. 
"  They  will  think,"  quoth  Dicky,  "  that  they  have  been  followed 
by  our  General,  and  that  he  is  pouncing  upon  them  with  his  whole 
army.  And  besides,"  he  added  pathetically,  "if  we  stay  here  all 
night  we  shall  get  no  supper  ;  whereas,  in  that  village,  we  shall 
doubtless  surprise  the  squaws  in  the  midst  of  their  flesh  pots,  and 
so  feast  like  fine  fellows." 

His  arguments  were  effectual  even  with  the  allies,  who  grunted 
their  approbation,  more  especially  at  the  idea  of  the  flesh  pots. 

Never  were  military  calculations  better  borne  out  than 
by  the  issue  of  our  attack  on  the  village.  A  single  volley 
from  our  guns,  with  one  peal  of  warwhoops  from  the  allies, 
settled  the  whole  affair.  I  have  no  doubt  the  Indians  thought, 
precisely  as  Captain  Dicky  said  they  would — that  the  whole  army 
from  the  Hillabee  towns  was  on  them;  and  the  gloom  of  the  twi- 
light, which  was  gathering  fast,  prevented  their  discovering  their 
error.  Such  were  the  confusion  and  terror  among  them  that  not 
so  much  as  a  gun  was  fired  at  us  by  the  warriors;  who  fled  from 
the  cabins,  like  the  squaws  and  children,  yelling  terribly,  until  the 
woods  and  darkness  assured  them  of  escape.  Many  of  them  even 
left  their  arms  and  ammunition  behind  them,  as  we  discovered 
by  searching  the  huts;  in  one  of  which  we  lighted  upon  a  plentiful 
store  of  corn  and  dried  meat — a  valuable  capture,  as  there  was 
great  scarcity  of  provisions  in  the  camp  at  that  time.  What  in- 
jury, besides  the  loss  of  the  village  and  stores,  we  had  inflicted 
upon  the  enemy,  we  could  not  well  determine;  but  we  found  the 
bodies  of  two  warriors  in  the  street,  besides  another  discovered  in 
a  wigwam,  which,  from  appearances,  we  judged  was  that  of  a  fugi- 
tive, who  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  morning,  and  had 
been  carried  by  his  comrades  thus  far  and  then  died. 

The  victory  achieved,  it  was  now  to  be  decided  whether  we 
should  destroy  the  village  and  stores  of  provisions,  and  endeavor 


254  ADVENTURES    OF 

to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  camp,  without  regarding  the  darkness, 
or  fortify  our  position  in  the  village  and  keep  possession  of  it  un- 
til the  stores  could  be  transferred  to  the  army. 

The  latter  course  was  resolved  upon  by  Captain  Dare,  who,  re- 
moving all  arms  and  other  valuables  into  the  wigwam  in  which  we 
had  found  the  stores,  clapped  the  torch  to  the  other  cabins  and 
burned  them  to  the  ground.  Then  fortifying  the  store  wigwam, 
which  was  converted  into  a  camp,  and  stationing  sentinels,  like  a 
man  who  knew  what  he  wTas  about,  Captain  Dare  called  his  secre- 
tary, Robin  Day,  who  wrote  after  his  dictation  the  following  im- 
portant dispatch  (which  was  immediately  sent  off  by  one  of  the 
Indian  allies)  to  his  commander,  the  Brigadier: 

"General: — Hearing  of  an  Indian  town,  where  it  was  supposed 
the  enemy  might  harbor,  I  have  the  honor  to  report  its  capture 
by  the  forces  under  my  command,  after  an  action  of  two  minutes; 
together  with  a  store  of  corn  equal  to  six  days,  rations  for  the 
army,  and  enough  meat  to  make  a  feast  all  round;  and  also  some 
guns  and  ammunition.  I  have  burned  the  town,  except  one  wig- 
wam which  I  have  fortified  for  the  protection  of  the  stores,  until 
further  orders." 

This  dispatch  will  mark  the  genius  of  Captain  Dare.  The  judi- 
cious reader  cannot  but  observe  the  sublime  brevity  of  its  opening 
— that  little  clause  in  which  the  young  conqueror  condensed,  with- 
out words,  ideas  which  would  have  caused  another  to  resort  to  his 
dictionary.  Even  the  thrasonical  Ca3sar  found  it  necessary  to  clap 
down  his  veni  and  vidi  /  whereas  Dicky  Dare  may  be  said  to  have 
accomplished  his  purpose  with  a  vici  only.  "  Hearing  of  an  Indian 
town,  I  have  the  honor  to  report  its  capture."  What  a  laconic 
concatenation  of  extremes,  of  dissevered  circumstances,  of  a  past 
and  a  future  condensed  into  a  single  present.  "  Hearing  of  an  In- 
dian town,  I  report  its  capture  " — as  if  the  hearing  of  it,  or  having 
heard  of  it  (for  it  is  not  necessary  a  great  man  should  be  particu- 
lar about  his  grammar),  was  not  merely  necessarily  followed  by 
its  capture,  but  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  same  thing  as 
its  capture.  It  is  thus  genius  leaps  from  its  thoughts  to  their  re- 
sults disdainful  or  unconscious,  of  the  steps  that  connect  them. 


ROBIN    DAY.  255 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Captain  Dave,  with  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  attempts  the  conquest 
of  the  Indian  country — He  fights  a  great  battle,  and  fortune 
declares  against  him,  but  still  more  decidedly  against  Robin 
Day,  who  falls  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

THE  night  passed  away  without  disturbance  ;  and  the  Bloody 
Volunteers  rose  from  their  couches  the  proudest  of  militiamen. 

And  now  it  was  that  Captain  Dare  (who,  I  believe,  from  the 
greatness  of  his  aspirations,  had  not  slept  a  wink  all  night),  being 
convinced  from  the  ease  with  which  he  had  won  so  great  a  victory 
that  it  would  require  but  little  more  trouble  to  accomplish  still 
greater  ones,  resolved  to  pursue  his  good  fortune  still  a  little  fur- 
ther. His  dispatch  to  the  Brigadier,  he  had  no  doubt,  would 
bring  that  officer,  with  all  his  arrny,  before  many  hours,  to  take 
possession  of  the  village  and  valuable  stores  Dicky  had  won  for 
him.  What  need  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  then,  to  remain  longer 
in  watch,  idling  the  time  that  might  procure  them  a  second  vic- 
tory ?  There  were  plenty  more  Indian  villages  waiting  to  be 
sacked.  Why  might  not  Dicky  Dare,  while  his  General  was  fol- 
lowing at  his  heels,  march  bravely  forward  with  his  command, 
and  capture  another  of  them  ?  and,  after  that,  another,  and 
another,  until  there  remained  no  more — until  the  Creek  nation 
was  entirely  subdued. 

In  short,  Dicky  Dare  was  seized  with  the  ambition  to  conquer 
the  Muscogee  nation  himself,  with  his  Bloody  Volunteers  and 
Indian  allies  ;  not,  indeed,  that  he  thought  his  band,  however 
swelled  in  numbers,  was  of  itself  sufficient  for  such  an  enterprise; 
but  it  was  amply  competent,  he  argued  to  me,  to  whom  he  con- 
fided all  his  mighty  plans,  while  backed  by  the  brigade,  following 
nigh  at  hand,  and  sustained  at  a  distance  by  the  army  of  General 
Jackson,  and  the  other  forces,  which,  at  different  points  were 
operating  in  the  Creek  territories. 

And  here  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  besides  our  own   division, 


256  ADVENTURES    OF 

now  descending  the  Tallapoosa  River,  and  General  Jackson's,  at 
that  time  on  the  Coosa,  both  aesailing  the  Creeks  from  the  North, 
there  were  two  other  detachments  attacking  them  from  other 
quarters  one  from  Georgia  in  the  East,  another  ascending  the 
Alabama  River,  of  which  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  are  tribu-N 
taries,  from  the  South. 

With  so  many  armies  assailing  them,  the  Creeks,  Captain  Dicky 
argued,  must  be  worried  and  bothered,  and  frightened  out  of 
their  senses.  "  There's  not  a  man  of  them,"  quoth  he,  "  turns  his 
face  towards  one  army  of  enemies  without  being  apprehensive 
the  other  three  may  at  any  moment  be  upon  his  back  ;  if  he 
hears  a  rifle  bang,  he  takes  it  for  granted  a  whole  division  is  at 
him."  In  fine,  Captain  Dare  decided  that  in  the  midst  of  these 
distractions  of  the  enemy  nothing  further  was  required  for  his 
destruction  than  a  moderate  force  of  men  under  some  intrepid 
leader,  with  judgment  enough  to  know  how  much  might  be  done 
by  audacity  and  energy.  "  I  attack  this  village  here,"  quoth 
Dicky  ;  "  well,  the  enemy  fancies  its  a  whole  division  at  him, 
yells  and  flies,  and  the  town  is  mine  !  I  attack  another,  and  the 
same  thing  follows  ;  and  so  it  may  be  to  the  end.  And  who, 
then,  is  the  conqueror  ?  I  take  it  for  granted  the  President  and 
Congress  of  the  United  States  could  do  nothing  less  than  send 
me  a  general's  commission  immediately  ;  and,  by  Julius  Caesar,  I 
should  know  better  how  to  employ  it  than  some  of  these  old  gran- 
nies, that  do  nothing  for  a  whole  year,  and  then  let  the  enemy 
trounce  them." 

I  objected  to  Dicky's  plan  the  possibility  of  his  being  attacked 
by  superior  numbers.  "  In  that  case,"  said  the  hero,  "  we  must 
fight  for  it,  by  Julius  Ca3sar  ;  and,  at  the  worst,  we  can  fall  back 
upon  the  brigade." 

"  But  they  may  cut  us  off  from  the  brigade,"  said  I.  "  Indians 
have  a  great  knack  at  getting  on  an  enemy's  rear." 

"  Well  then,"  quoth  Dicky,  "  we  can  fall  back  upon  one  of  the 
other  armies,  which  is  the  comfort  of  the  thing;  retreat  must 
always  be  open  in  some  quarter  or  other." 

Such  were  Dicky's  plans,  which,  confided  to  me  alone  (for  he 
had  some  misgivings  they  were  too  grand  to  be  properly  appre- 
ciated and  approved  by  others  of  the  band),  he  resolved  to  make 
trial  of  ;  and  accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  Bloody  Volunteers  had 
finished  their  breakfast,  he  directed  each  man  to  help  himself 


ROBIN    DAY.  25  T 

from  the  stores  to  a  week's  provisions,  and  as  much  more  as  he 
thought  fit  to  carry,  remarking,  that  "  while  we  had  such  scurvy 
contractors  to  take  care  of  us,  it  was  best  for  every  man  to  take 
care  of  himself ;"  which  was  meant  to  prevent  their  suspecting  he  had 
a  particular  purpose  in  thus  providing  them.  He  requested  them 
also  to  fill  up  their  powder  horns  and  bullet  pouches  ;  "  because,' 
quoth  he,  with  a  grim  facetiousness,  "if  we  have  many  more 
villages  to  take  by  storm  we  shall  run  through  the  ammunition 
chest  in  no  time  ;"  a  jest  which  was  not  very  witty,  but  highly 
agreeable,  because  of  its  complimentary  character,  to  the  Bloody 
Volunteers. 

This  being  all  done,  he  told  them  "  the  General  and  army  were 
now  close  at  hand,  and  they  must  mount  for  a  little  more  duty 
among  the  wigwams  ;"  which  being  nothing  more  than  usual,  no 
one  made  objections  ;  and,  accordingly,  out  we  all  marched  to 
subdue  the  Creek  nation. 

Our  first  movement,  as  Dicky  had  informed  me,  was  to  be 
against  another  village  twelve  miles  off  of  which  the  Indians  had 
told  him  ;  though  he  had  not  yet  thought  fit  to  acquaint  these 
faithful  auxiliaries  of  his  having  any  further  designs  than  to  recon- 
noitre in  its  neighborhood,  to  collect  such  information  as  might 
be  advantageous  to  the  army.  But  I  believe  these  painted  son& 
of  the  forest  began,  by  and  by,  to  suspect  there  was  more  in  the 
wind  than  they  knew  or  could  approve  of,  as  some  half  dozen  or 
more  of  them  took  their  opportunity,  one  by  one,  to  slip  away 
from  us  ;  while  others  became  very  importunate  to  turn  back, 
without,  however,  giving  any  better  reason  for  the  step  than  that 
they  thought  we  were  getting  too  far  from  the  Big  Captain — that 
is,  the  Brigadier.  By  and  by  some  of  them  saw,  or  said  they  saw, 
numerous  signs  or  trails  of  the  enemy,  and  swore  with  sundry  oaths,, 
which  they  had  learned  from  their  white  friends,  that  we  should 
all  be  killed  if  we  went  any  further ;  an  assurance  which,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  had  an  unfavorable  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  who  burst  into  a  sudden  mutiny,  came  to  a 
halt,  and  swore  they  loved  their  captain,  but  they  would  be — not 
killed,  as  the  Indians  said — but  they  would  be  hanged  if  they 
went  any  further.  Alas  !  Captain  Dicky,  in  laying  his  plans,  had 
quite  forgot  that  his  valiant  volunteers  were  free  and  independent 
militiamen. 

But  Captain  Dicky  did  not  yet  despair  of  the  Bloody  Volun- 


258  ADVENTURES     OF 

teers.  He  raised  himself  in  his  stirrups,  and  began  to  address 
them  in  a  speech,  full,  or  intended  to  be  full,  of  ingenious  argu- 
ments to  prove  that  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier,  and  even  a  militia- 
man, and  even  an  American  militiaman,  was  to  obey  his  officer; 
when  speech  and  logic  were  both  brought  to  a  close  by  a  sudden 
volley  of  small  arms,  let  fly  from  a  clump  of  bushes  not  far  off;  by 
which  one  of  the  allies  was  brought  to  the  ground  and  a  volunteer 
slightly  wounded. 

"  By  Julius  Cassar,"  cried  Dicky  Dare,  triumphantly,  "  I  reckon 
you'll  obey  orders,  now,  my  fine  fellows;  because  if  you  don't  you 
will  be  whipped,  that's  all !  " 

And  with  that  he  directed  them  immediately  to  charge  the  ene- 
my out  of  their  cover;  a  command  which  the  Bloody  Volunteers, 
recovering  from  the  first  feelings  of  consternation,  readily  obeyed 
— and  perhaps  the  more  readily,  as  it  did  not  seem  from  the 
weight  of  the  volley  that  the  ambushed  party  could  be  a  numerous 
one.  Of  this  opinion  also  were  the  allies,  who,  uttering  a  spirited 
whoop,  darted  away  to  right  and  left  with  the  intention  of  sur- 
rounding the  enemy,  who  were  immediately  seen,  to  the  number 
of  twelve  or  fifteen  warriors,  flying  through  the  woods. 

We  pursued  them,  with  sufficient  ardor,  a  little  way  to  a  thicket 
in  which  they  had  taken  refuge,  and  from  which  they  gave  us 
a  second  fire ;  while  almost  at  the  same  moment  a  third  volley 
was  discharged  from  the  wood  at  our  left,  by  which  we  perceived 
we  had  more  than  one  party  to  contend  with. 

Upon  this,  there  was  a  cry  among  the  men  to  fall  back,  lest  we 
should  be  surrounded  by  superior  numbers  and  our  retreat  cut 
off. 

"  Very  well,"  quoth  Captain  Dicky  Dare;  "but  we  must  first 
trounce  these  vagabonds;  for  by  Julius  Caesar,  I  am  not  going  to 
fly  before  them." 

The  auxiliaries  were  directed  to  dislodge  the  first  party  from 
the  thicket;  while  Captain  Dare,  with  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  rode 
.against  the  other  in  the  wood.  Both  parties  were  soon  driven  from 
their  coverts,  with  some  loss  on  their  side;  and  as  both  the  bands 
were  greatly  inferior  in  strength  to  the  forces  acting  against  them, 
we  were  tempted  to  continue  the  pursuit  a  little  further,  the 
friendly  Indians  chasing  their  party  in  one  direction,  and  we  ours 
in  another. 

In  this  manner  we  became  a  little  separated  from  the   allies; 


ROBIN    DAY.  259 

when,  on  a  sudden,  a  great  firing  was  heard  in  the  direction  they 
had  taken,  by  which  the  Bloody  Volunteers  were  thrown  into  a 
second  panic,  and  were  with  great  difficulty  persuaded  by  the 
magnanimous  Dicky  to  ride  with  him  to  the  assistance  of  uur  red 
friends,  who,  it  was  now  plain,  had  fallen  upon  and  were  engaged 
with  a  considerable  body  of  enemies.  We  found  them  in  full  re- 
treat before  a  force  of  savages  as  strong  as  our  own,  but  disputing 
every  inch,  and  fighting,  in  their  way  from  tree  to  tree,  as  they  re- 
tired. 

Observing  the  condition  of  the  battle  with  the  eye  and  judg 
ment  of  a  Bonaparte,  Dicky  ordered  us  to  dismount,  and  leave  our 
horses  in  charge  of  the  wounded  man,  who  retired  a  little  distance 
to  the  rear;  while  we  took  a  concealed  position  such  as  would 
bring  us  upon  the  enemy's  flank,  as  he  drew  nigh  in  the  pursuit. 
This  in  a  few  moments  procured  us  an  opportunity  of  delivering  a 
most  successful  and  destructive  fire,  by  which  the  savages  were 
for  a  moment  greatly  disordered  ;  so  that  nothing  more  was  neces- 
sary to  secure  us  the  victory  than  firmness  on  the  part  of  our  al- 
lies, whom  Dicky,  not  doubting  their  faithful  co-operation,  now 
called  on  to  unite  with  us  in  a  general  charge.  But,  alas  !  the 
Bloody  Volunteers  charged  alone;  the  allies  taking  advantage  of 
the  diversion  effected  in  their  favor,  only  to  continue  their  re- 
treat. 

Our  gallantry  only  served  the  purpose  of  bringing  upon  us  the 
whole  body  of  enemies,  who  came  rushing  up  with  terrible  whoops 
and  yells,  brandishing  their  knives  and  hatchets,  gnashing  their 
teeth — in  short,  acting  like  so  many  tigers  hungry  for  their  prey. 

The  Bloody  Volunteers  forgot  their  fame,  and  fled.  It  was  in 
vain  Captain  Dicky  entreated  them  to  "  stand  firm,  and  let  the 
villains  have  it ;"  the  cry  was  "  every  man  for  himself;"  and 
away  they  ran  pell  mell  after  the  horses,  to  secure  their  escape. 
Even  Captain  Dicky  himself,  thus  abandoned  by  his  heroes,  was 
compelled  to  follow  their  example  ;  and  so,  it  may  be  supposed, 
was  I.  I  ran  as  hard  as  I  could;  and  being  both  lighter  and  fleeter 
of  foot  than  any  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  I  was  soon  up  with 
the  headmost,  and,  indeed,  a  little  in  advance  of  them,  looking 
eagerly  for  the  horses,  none  of  which,  however,  were  to  be  seen, 
when  the  flight  of  the  whole  company  was  terribly  brought  to  an 
end,  at  least  in  that  direction,  by  a  volley  from  another  and  more 
powerful  band  of  Creeks,  who  had  laid  an  ambush  upon  our  rear, 


260 


ADVENTURES  OF 


:and  now,  having  fired  their  guns  fairly  in  our  faces,  leaped  upon 
us  to  finish  the  work  with  their  tomahawks.  As  for  myself,  being 
in  advance  of  the  rest,  I  actually  rushed  into  the  very  midst  of  the 
ambuscade,  and  almost  into  the  arms  of  a  warrior,  who  started  up, 
shot  off  his  piece  within  two  yards  of  my  head,  and  then,  dropping 
it,  ran  at  me  with  a  long  scalping  knife,  roaring  with  triumph^ 
and  in  good  English,  "  Shiver  my  timbers,  shipmate,  I'll  haveyo^ 
scalp  anyhow  !  " 

The  words,  unspeakably  dreadful  to  my  ears,  were  not  less  wonder- 
ful than  dreadful ;  they  came  from  the  lips  of  my  extraordinary 
friend,  Captain  Jack  Brown,  whom,  notwithstanding  that  his  face 
was  all  streaked  over  with  paint  like  an  Indian's,  I  immediately 
recognized,  because— not  to  speak  of  his  voice,  which  I  could  not 
so  soon  forget— he  wore  the  very  same  sailor's  clothes  in  which  I 
had  last  seen  him  in  Virginia. 

It  was  no  time  then  to  remember  the  wrongs  he  had  done  me  : 
at  such  a  moment  I  could  have  forgiven  him  if  he  had  robbed, 
cozened,  and  sold  me  to  slavery  a  dozen  times  over.  I  called  im- 
mediately for  quarter.  "  Quarter,  Captain  Brown  !"  I  cried  • 
41  don't  kill  an  old  friend.  " 

"  What  !  Chowder  Chow,  sink  me  ! "  he  cried  ;  and  his  fury 
evaporated  in  a  tremendous  laugh.  "  And  so  you're  out  of  that 
scrape,  are  you  ?  But  I'll  be  hang'd  if  you  ain't  in  a  much  worse 
one  now/" 


KOBIN    DAY.  261 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

Robin  Day,  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians,  is  carried  to  their  vil- 
lage, where  he  is  made  to  run  the  gauntlet — The  happy  device 
which  he  puts  into  execution  against  his  tormentors. 

WITH  that  he  laughed  again,  but  seized  me  by  the  arm  and 
pulled  me  down  into  the  bushes  to  conceal  me  from  the  Creeks, 
who,  he  said — and,  truly,  I  believed  him — would  murder  me  if  they 
saw  me  ;  and  there  he  held  me  until  they  had  got  a  little  away  in 
pursuit  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  who  were  now  flying  in  another 
direction. 

"  Split  my  topsails  !"  cried  Captain  Brown,  laughing  again,  "  but 
I  believe  you'll  be  my  lieutenant  yet !  How,  in  the  name  of  Davy 
Jones  and  all  the  prophets,  did  you  get  here  among  these 
^blasted  Injuns,  and  how  do  you  like  'em  ?  For  my  part,  sink  me, 
I  think  its  a  fine  thing,  this  fighting  in  the  way  of  nature— bang- 
ing away  from  a  bush,  and  cutting  off  scalps  as  you'd  slice  the 
top  off  an  orange." 

"  Captain  Brown,  there's  no  time  for  talking,"  said  I,  and  would 
have  said  more,  but  he  interrupted  me. 

"True  enough,"  quoth  he,  "and  while  the  red  raggamuffins 
are  making  mince  meat  of  them  milshy men,  the  lubbers,  why  we'll 
just  save  your  numskull  from  their  dirty  fingers." 

And  with  that  he  bade  me  follow  him,  which  I  did  some  dis- 
tance through  the  woods,  until  the  savages  were  no  longer  to  be 
seen,  though  we  could  hear  a  brisk  firing,  as  if  the  Bloody  Volun- 
teers, or  perhaps  their  Indian  allies,  had  turned  bravely  to  fighting 
again  ;  when  I  told  him  I  thought  I  could  now  make  good  my  es- 
cape, and  find  my  way  back  to  the  brigade. 

He  told  me,  "  no— the  woods  were  now  full  of  Creeks,  who  had  cut 
off  the  retreat  of  our  party,  and  not  a  man  of  it  could  escape  ;  the 
savages  would  have  every  scalp  in  less  than  an  hour,  and  mine  too, 
unless  he  took  good  care  of  it  for  me,  which  he  intended  to  do, 
because,  split  him,  he  loved  me."  And  thereupon  he  said  he 


262  ADVENTURES     OF 

would  take  me  to  the  Indian  town  (that  very  one  Captain  Dicky 
had  set  out  in  the  morning  with  such  a  valiant  design  of  taking 
by  storm)  as  his  prisoner.  I  assured  him,  in  great  tribulation,  "  I 
would  rather  take  my  chance  in  the  woods,  because  it  was  notori- 
ous the  Creeks  in  this  war  had  never  admitted  a  prisoner  to 
mercy,"  which  he  agreed  was  very  true,  but  I  was  his  prisoner 
and  not  theirs  ;  and  with  that  he  delivered  a  volley  of  oaths  and 
gave  me  his  word  of  honor  the  Indians  should  not  kill  me. 

"  But,"  said  I,  grasping  my  rifle,  which  I  had  not  yet  deserted, 
"  I  have  no  notion  of  remaining  even  their  prisoner.  And  so,  Cap- 
tain Brown,  with  many  thanks  to  you  for  your  good-will,  and 
especially  for  having  saved  my  life  (for  which  reason,  I  forgive 
your  having  made  a  slave  of  me),  I  bid  you  good-by." 

And  so  saying  I  turned  to  escape,  when,  to  my  horror  and  as- 
tonishment, Captain  Brown  let  fly  his  piece  (which  he  had  re- 
charged as  we  walked  along)  within  an  inch  of  my  ear,  and  then 
seizing  me  by  the  collar,  as  I  stood  petrified,  brandishing  at  the 
same  time  a  knife  in  my  face,  as  if  he  meant  to  cut  my  throat,  he 
cried  :  "  Hold  still,  you  blasted  skilligallee,  or  you'll  be  murdered 
to  a  certainty  !" 

I  understood  in  an  instant  that  his  purpose  was  to  save,  not  to 
destroy  me,  for  even  as  he  spoke  I  heard  a  shrill  whoop,  and  up 
ran  three  wild  savages,  who  must  have  been  within  view  as  I 
started  to  run,  and  would  undoubtedly,  had  I  got  any  distance 
from  Brown,  have  served  me  the  turn  they  were  now  most  anxious 
to  do,  that  is,  to  kill  me.  They  came  yelling  and  ravening  up, 
and  it  was  all  Brown  could  do  to  save  me  from  their  knives  and 
hatchets.  He  cursed  and  swore,  threatened,  looked  big  and  fero- 
cious, and  told  them  repeatedly,  now  in  English,  now  in  a  mongrel 
Indian  jabber  he  had  picked  up,  that  I  was  his  prisoner,  and  if 
they  wanted  one  they  might  go  hunt  for  one  themselves.  In  short, 
he  prevented  their  murderous  designs,  though  he  could  not  entirely 
drive  them  off  as  he  wished ;  and  when  he  presently  signified  that 
I  must  accompany  him  to  the  village,  which  I  prepared  to  do  with- 
out resistance,  being  no  longer  able  to  help  myself,  they  followed 
at  a  little  distance  behind  us,  looking  sullen  and  ferocious  and  ex- 
pectant, like  so  many  wolves  awaiting  the  moment  to  snap  up  the 
poor  traveler  whom  they  are  dogging  on  his  journey. 

This  circumstance,  in  addition  to  other  causes  of  grief, — the  fate 
of  my  brother  volunteers,  who,  I  feared,  were  by  this  time  all 


EORIN    DAT.  263 

massacred,  and  the  prospect  of  captivity,  supposing  nothing  worse 
should  ensue, — it  may  be  supposed  had  no  very  favorable  effect 
upon  my  spirits. 

But  the  natural  buoyancy  of  my  mind,  added  to  the  assurances 
of  Captain  Brown,  who  repeatedly  declared  I  had  nothing  to  fear, 
and  laughed  at  my  uneasiness,  gradually  brought  me  into  a  more 
cheerful  frame,  so  that  I  could  give  ear  to  the  conversation  with 
which  he  beguiled  the  way  to  the  village. 

He  desired  again  to  know  how  I  had  escaped  from  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Feverage,  upon  which  I  related  the  whole  story,  and  asked 
him  how  he  could  reconcile  it  to  his  sense  of  honor  to  treat  me  in 
that  way  ?  "  Oh  !"  said  he  with  a  grin,  "  the  devil  got  into  my 
head,  and  I  couldn't  help  it.  Besides,  it  was  what  the  sodgers 
call  a  mine  countermined,  a  trick  for  a  trick,  split  me  ;  because 
how,  d'ye  see,  my  hearty,  you  were  just  meditating  how  you  should 
give  me  the  slip,  and  hang  me,  no  craft  yet  ever  took  the  weather 
of  Jack  Brown  on  land  or  water." 

I  then,  having  informed  him  of  the  remainder  of  my  adventures, 
with  which  he  was  vastly  diverted,  but  with  none  so  much  as  the 
discovery  that  the  gallant  Dicky  Dare,  his  vanquisher  on  the  high- 
way, was  the  commander  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  the  heroes  and 
sufferers  of  the  day — I  then  requested,  in  my  turn,  to  know  what 
had  thus  brought  him  among  the  Indians,  and  arrayed  him  so 
traitorously  in  arms  against  his  own  country. 

"  My  own  country  be  d — d  !"  quoth  Jack  Brown,  with  lofty  con- 
tempt ;  "  I  sails  under  my  own  flag  and  nobody's  else.  But  as  for 
how  I  came  here  among  these  red  Injuns,  why,  blast  me,  it  was 
partly  because  of  an  accident  ;  for,  d'ye  see,  hang  me,  I  took  to  the 
road  again  for  diversion,  just  to  kill  time  on  the  way,  but  some 
how,  split  me,  I  killed  a  niggur  trader " 

"  Killed  a  negro  trader !"  cried  I,  with  a  faltering  voice. 

"  Yes,"  said  Captain  Brown,  with  ineffable  coolness  ;  "  I  knocked 
him  off  his  horse  with  his  own  riding  whip,  which  I  borrowed  for 
the  purpose,  and  then  marched  his  niggurs  to  the  next  town  to  sell 
them  ;  for,  shiver  my  timbers,  d'ye  see,  the  niggurs,  being  niggurs, 
could  not  witness  against  me.  But  somehow  or  other  they  got 
up  a  row  about  it,  and  so  there  was  nothing  but  to  up  anchor  and 
crowd  on  all  sail  for  the  Injun  country.  And  so,  hearing  the 
paint-faced  lubbers  loved  an  Englishman,  why ,  sink  me,  says  I,  'I'm 
an  Englishman,  and  I'm  come  to  have  a  brush  with  you  against 


264  ADVENTURES     OP 

your  foes,  my  red-faced  hearties,  for  I  loves  it. '  And  so  they  made 
much  of  me,  and  I  have  very  good  times  with  'em,  taking  top- 
knots. And,"  concluded  Captain  Brown,  "  there's  fun  in  it." 

What  a  perverse  fate  was  mine,  to  connect  me,  and,  as  it  seemed, 
FO  inextricably,  with  the  fortunes  of  such  a  man  as  Captain 
Brown,  a  fellow  to  whom  swindling  and  fraud  of  every  kind  were 
but  jests — who  spoke  of  killing  a  man  as  if  nothing  were  more 
natural  and  proper,  and  saw  nothing  but  very  good  fun  in  helping 
savage  Indians  to  take  the  scalps  of  his  own  countrymen. 

Nevertheless,  Captain  Brown  had,  just  that  moment,  saved  my 
life,  and  was  the  only  person  who  could  afford  the  protection  of 
which,  it  was  obvious,  I  still  stood  in  need.  And,  therefore,  I  had 
no  idea  of  letting  the  horror  and  disgust  with  which  he  inspired  me 
deprive  me  of  the  advantages  of  his  friendship. 

After  an  hour  or  two,  walking,  we  reached  the  village,  where 
my  unepected  presence  produced  a  furious  hubbub  among  the 
squaws  and  papooses,  the  only  inhabitants,  all  the  warriors  and 
others  capable  of  bearing  arms  having  gone  out  against  the  unfor- 
tunate Volunteers.  They  screeched  and  raved  like  so  many  furies 
and  little  imps  of  darkness  ;  some  pelted  me  with  mud  and  chunks 
of  wood,  the  little  boys  shot  at  me  with  arrows,  and  set  the  dogs 
on  to  devour  me;  while  one  or  two  old  beldames,  as  ugly  as  baboons 
and  as  fierce  as  tiger-cats,  ran  at  me  with  knives,  making  every 
effort  to  dispatch  me.  Captain  Brown  interposed,  as  before,  to 
save  me.  He  cursed  the  boys,  he  kicked  the  dogs,  and  tossed  the 
old  women  away  ;  but  I  did  not  esteem  myself  perfectly  safe  until 
he  had  dragged  me  into  a  cabin,  of  which,  I  soon  found  by  the  airs 
he  put  on,  he  was  the  master. 

Here,  though  I  was  protected  from  the  mob  of  the  street,  I  found 
myself  confronted  by  three  young  but  by  no  mean  handsome 
squaws  ;  who  also  burst  into  a  rage  at  sight  of  me,  and  seemed  in- 
clined to  give  me  as  savage  a  reception  as  the  others  had  done ; 
but  upon  Captain  Brown  swearing  at  them,  which  he  did  with 
great  energy,  they  slunk  away  to  their  domestic  occupations,  one 
to  pounding  corn  in  a  mortar,  another  to  puffing  a  fire  under  a  pot, 
the  third  to  some  other  work,  but  all  grumbling  and  scolding  in 
their  own  language,  like  viragos  of  the  most  acid  temperament, 
giving  me  every  now  and  then  looks  of  implacable  hatred.  I  asked 
Captain  Brown  who  they  were  ;  to  which  he  replied,  to  my  aston- 
ishment, "  they  were  his  wives,  sink  them,  and  as  cursed  a  pack  of 


ROBIN    DAY.  265 

jades  as  were  to  be  found  in  the  whole  Creek  nation.  "  And  there- 
upon the  intolerable  Turk  told  me,  "  if  I  wanted  one,  I  might  have 
one — or,  for  the  matter  of  that,  all  three  of  them  ;  and  for  his  part, 
split  him,  he  would  never  marry  another  Injun  wife  again  as  long 
as  he  lived,  because  why,  he  believed  one  was  just  as  big  a  jade  as 
another. " 

This  was  a  new  illustration  of  the  extraordinary  want  of  princi- 
ples which  Brown  had  long  since  coolly  avowed,  and  which  every 
act  and  word  of  his  only  more  surprisingly  confirmed. 

A  half  hour  or  more  was  spent  in  conversation,  in  which  Brown 
gave  a  more  detailed  history  of  his  adventures  since  abandoning 
me  to  Mr.  Feverage;  and  then  we  sat  down  to  an  Indian  dinner  of 
meat,  corn,  pumpkins  and  sweet  potatoes,  all  boiled  together  in  a 
pot.  The  dish  was  not  the  most  savory  in  the  world,  but,  being 
hungry,  I  should  perhaps  have  very  well  enjoyed  it,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  entrance  into  the  hut  of  a  savage-looking  warrior,  ap- 
parently fresh  from  the  battle,  who  was  presently  followed  by  an- 
other, and  then  another  and  another,  until  there  were  more  than  a 
dozen  of  them  present.  I  was  not  much  dismayed  at  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  visitor,  who,  at  Captain  Brown's  invitation,  squat- 
ted down  at  his  side,  and  partook  of  our  dinner;  and,  being  asked 
upon  the  subject  by  Brown,  proceeded,  in  broken  English,  to  in- 
form him  of  the  results  of  the  battle.  He  stated  that  the  affair 
was  not  yet  over  ;  that  the  Bloody  Volunteers  had  been  unluckily 
driven  in  such  a  direction  as  to  stumble  upon  and  effect  a  junction 
with  their  allies,  the  friendly  Indians,  who  had  been  also  intercep- 
ted ;  that  the  party,  thus  reunited,  had  rallied  under  the  encour- 
agement of  the  intrepid  Dicky,  and  taken  possession  of  an  old  de- 
serted wigwam,  from  which  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  attempt 
to  disdodge  them  until  night ;  and  that,  accordingly,  the  Creeks 
had  retired  to  a  distance,  still,  however,  surrounding  the  ruin, 
which,  there  was  no  doubt,  they  would  carry  at  the  approach  of 
darkness.  This  had  given  an  opportunity  to  our  informant,  and, 
as  it  afterwards  appeared,  to  many  other  Indians,  to  return  for  a 
while  to  the  village. 

It  was  some  satisfaction  to  me  to  hear  that  poor  Dicky  and  his 
followers  were  yet  alive;  but  the  appearance  of  so  many  savages 
in  the  cabin  drove  from  my  mind  all  thoughts  of  my  friends,  and 
of  every  thing  else  but  self;  especially  when  one  of  these  despera- 
does, after  having  eaten  a  very  hearty  meal,  got  up,  and  in  the 


266  ADVENTURES     OF 

course  of  a  long  speech,  addressed  in  broken  English  to  Captain 
Brown,  proposed  that  I,  his  prisoner,  should  be  taken  out  and 
made  to  run  the  gauntlet,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  women  and 
children ;  who,  he  represented  with  great  pathos,  were  mourning 
the  loss  of  many  a  husband  and  father,  slain  by  the  white  man, 
and  stooJ  therefore  in  need  of  some  such  consolation. 

To  this  amiable  proposal  Captain  Brown,  to  do  him  justice,  at 
first  returned  a  flat  refusal  ;  but  the  other  Indians  now  joining 
in  the  request,  and  some  proceeding  to  the  length  of  actually 
laying  hands  upon  me,  as  if  determined  to  have  their  will,  wheth- 
er Brown  consented  or  not,  he  made  a  merit  of  necessity  and 
surrendered  me  up,  notwithstanding  the  many  piteous  entreaties  I 
made  him  to  protect  me.  I  reminded  him  of  the  promise  he 
had  made,  on  his  honor,  that  the  Indians  should  not  kill  me  ;  to 
which,  he  replied,  very  coolly;  "they  were  not  going  to  kill,  but 
to  carbonado  me  ;"  and  comforted  me  with  the  assurance  that 
"one  was  not  to  expect  to  get  through  the  world  without  a 
few  little  rubs,  split  him." 

In  short,  Captain  Brown,  with  all  his  professions  of  friendship, 
seemed  not  in  the  least  distressed  at  my  affliction;  and  I  was 
immediately  haled  out  into  the  air,  where  my  former  torment- 
ors, the  squaws  and  little  boys,  already  collected  in  expectation, 
received  me  with  cries  of  mingled  fury  and  delight.  They  im- 
mediately arrayed  themselves,  with  the  assistance  of  the  warriors, 
into  two  lines  about  six  feet  apart,  and  perhaps  a  hundred  paces 
long;  thus  forming  a  narrow  alley,  through  which  I  was  to  run 
to  Brown's  cabin,  at  the  door  of  which  the  lines  ended.  All  the 
persons  forming  the  lines — squaws,  children,  and  warriors — were 
armed  with  sticks  and  bludgeons,  and  some  of  them,  I  am 
certain,  with  knives  and  hatchets,  notwithstanding  that  Brown, 
who  assisted  with  great  apparent  spirit  and  gusto  in  arranging 
the  lines,  assured  me  the  warriors  had  agreed  there  should  be 
no  dangerous  weapons  used. 

I  need  not  tell  the  reader  with  what  emotions  of  indignation 
and  grief  I  found  myself  degraded  to  such  a  fate,  to  make  sport 
and  pastime  for  vagabond  Indians,  whom  I  despised,  even  while  I 
feared  and  hated  them.  But  indignation  and  grief  could  not  save 
me  from  the  fate.  I  must  run  the  gauntlet  through  those  lines  ; 
and  Brown,  cautioning  me  to  "  run  fair,"  as  he  called  it,  declared  I 
would  be  infallibly  murdered  if  I  broke  through  the  lines ;  and  all 


KOBIN    DAY.  267 

I  could  hope  was,  by  employing  my  utmost  speed  and  agility  in 
avoiding  the  blows  to  be  aimed  at  me,  to  get  through  the  infernal 
€eremony  as  quickly  and  with  as  little  hurt  as  might  be. 

Such  was  the  advice  of  Captain  Brown  ;  who,  having  proved  his 
friendship  by  giving  it,  and  placed  me  at  a  point  a  few  yards  in  ad- 
vance of  the  lines,  ready  to  start  at  the  signal,  took  post  at  his  own 
<?abin  door  to  give  it,  and  to  receive  me  when  the  race  was  over. 

As  I  stood  a  moment,  looking  down  the  living  alley,  bristling 
with  clubs  upheld  in  readiness,  and  sparkling  with  eyes  all  turned 
towards  me  with  diabolical  expectation,  my  fears  got  the  mastery 
of  me,  and  I  felt  a  sudden  inclination  to  run  the  race  the  other  way 
— that  is,  fly  to  the  woods,  instead  of  to  Captain  Brown's  wigwam 
My  next  feeling  was  wrath  and  malice,  and  a  desire,  since  escape 
was  impossible,  to  make  the  sport  result  in  as  much  suffering  to  my 
tormentors  as  to  their  victim.  This  vengeful  feeling,  or  some  good 
.angel,  I  know  not  which,  suddenly  brought  to  my  mind  the  recollec- 
tion of  my  adventures  with  the  negroes  in  the  streets  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  the  device  by  which  I  had  so  effectually  revenged  upon 
the  black  dandy  the  indignities  I  had  suffered  from  his  brethren. 
I  had  no  Scotch  snuff,  to  be  sure,  to  enable  me  to  play  the  same 
game  over  again  on  the  present  occasion  ;  but  my  eye  was  attracted 
by  a  mass  of  loose  light  sand  strewing  the  path  on  which  I  stood ;  and 
I  felt  that  a  better  substitute  for  Scotch  snuff  could  not  have  been 
offered  me.  Stooping  down  to  the  ground  and  busying  myself  a 
moment  about  my  shoe,  as  if  securing  it  for  the  race,  I  took  the 
opportunity  to  snatch  up  in  each  hand  as  much  sand  as  I  could  well 
<?ram  into  them*;  and  then,  the  word  being  given  by  Brown  crying 
out,  "  Now,  my  skilligallee,  run,  you  lubber  !" — words  that  brought 
a  peal  of  yells  from  the  savages,  I  started  at  full  speed  down  the 
alley,  scattering,  as  the  husbandman  does  his  seed,  a  little  sand 
from  both  sides,  and  aiming  it  with  admirable  accuracy  full  at  the 
eyes  of  my  persecutors,  administering  always  a  double  dose  where 
I  had  reason,  from  the  bigness  of  the  club  or  the  fury  of  the  visage, 
to  apprehend  the  most  dangerous  enemy. 

The  device  succeeded  wonderfully  ;  it  protected  me  from  many 
a  blow,  aimed  or  intended  to  be  aimed,  at  my  unprotected  body  ; 
and  it  changed  the  cries  of  ferocity  of  my  enemies  to  yells  of 
pain  and  anguish.  Nothing  can  express  the  horrible  confusion  I  left 
at  every  step,  as  I  ran,  behind  me  ;  two  hundred  and  fifty  savages — 
man,  woman  and  child — were  suddenly  consign  edto  blindness, 


268  ADVENTURES     OF 

with  each  at  least  ten  grains  of  sand  in  either  eye  ;  and  how  they 
ever  got  rid  of  them,  as  I  am  certain  I  left  not  a  sound  eye  to  help 
the  afflicted  in  all  the  village,  I  know  not. 

Next  to  the  satisfaction  of  thus  repaying,  or  anticipating,  their 
cruelties,  was  that  of  my  almost  perfect  exemption  from  injury. 
Some  slight  blows  I  received,  indeed,  and  one  cut,  which  I  sup- 
posed was  from  a  knife,  on  my  left  shoulder  ;  but  I  should  have 
reached  Brown's  cabin  without  a  hurt  of  any  consequence,  had  it 
not  been  that  this  worthy  himself,  my  faithful  friend,  after  giving 
the  signal,  had  jumped  in  at  the  end  of  the  line  with  a  shillelah  ; 
with  which,  roaring  in  animated  tones,  "  run,  you  lubber,"  he  hit 
me  a  tremendous  thwack,  by  which  I  was  tumbled,  or  rather  dar- 
ted, headlong  into  the  cabin.  Unfortunately  for  my  own  interests, 
as  I  had  entertained  no  apprehensions  of  such  a  salute  from  Cap- 
tain Brown,  I  had  made  no  preparations  to  prevent  it  ;  unfor- 
tunately for  Captain  Brown,  however,  I  was  aware  of  his  intent 
in  time  to  revenge  it  ;  and  at  the  very  moment  his  stick  came  in 
contact  with  my  back,  I  succeeded  by  a  violent  effort  in  flinging 
all  my  remaining  ammunition  into  his  face  ;  and  his  furious  ex- 
clamation, "  shiver  my  timbers,  I'm  blinded  for  ever  !"  was  mingled 
with  the  less  comprehensible  but  equally  agonized  ejaculations  of 
the  Indians. 


KOBIN    DAY.  269 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

How  the  Indians  condemn  Robin  Dag  to  the  stake,  along  with 
Captain  Brown,  their  adopted  brother  ;  and  in  what  manner 
the  two  are  saved  from  being  burned  alive. 

"You  have  blinded  me,  you  cub  of  a  sea  dog  !"  cried  Captain 
Brown,  groping  his  way  into  the  cabin,  where  were  now  none  but 
ourselves  ;  for  his  amiable  wives,  it  seemed,  had  been  too  happy  to 
take  part  in  the  savage  entertainment,  in  which  they  had  suffered 
as  well  as  others.  The  smarting  of  my  back  gave  a  bolder 
emphasis  to  my  reply, — "  No  craft  yet  ever  took  the  weather  of 
Jack  Brown  on  land  or  water  !" 

"  Bravo  !"  cried  Jack  Brown,  bursting  into  a  laugh,  which, 
however,  ended  in  a  growl  :  "  I've  heard  of  a  rat  taking  a  cat  by 
the  nose,  and  a  jackass  kicking  a  lion.  But,  split  me,  no  more 
gabbling  ;  pick  the  sand  out  of  my  eyes." 

This  piece  of  friendship  I  performed  for  the  gentleman  ;  who, 
being  at  last  freed  from  pain,  fell  into  a  good  humor,  and  highly 
commended  the  novelty  and  ingenuity  of  my  device,  and  swore, 
the  next  time  he  went  cruising,  he  would  take  in  a  cargo  of 
sand,  "  becuase  why,  it  would  be  a  great  saving  of  gunpowder."  I 
had  my  doubts  and  fears  as  to  the  effects  of  my  stratagem  upon  the 
tempers  of  the  savages  ;  but  Brown  assured  me  it  was  a  good 
joke,  which  they  would  themselves  enjoy,  as  soon  as  they  got 
their  eyes  washed  out. 

By  and  by,  having  tired  of  jesting  upon  the  subject,  he  pro- 
posed I  should  turn  savage  like  him — though  he  recommended 
me  not  to  trouble  myself  with  any  wives, "  because  why,  they  were 
infernal  jades,  all  of  them  " — and  accompany  him  forthwith  to  the 
scene  of  battle,  for  the  honest  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  my  late  friends  and  comrades,  the  Bloody  Volunteers, 
which,  he  said,  would  make  the  Creeks  fond  of  me.  I  rejected  the 
proposal  with  indignation  ;  upon  which  he  himself  started  off, 
leaving  me,  to  my  great  grief,  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  spouses 


270  AD VENTURES     OF 

who,  perhaps,  thinking  themselves  responsible  for  my  safekeeping, 
immediately  laid  hands  upon  me,  and  with  a  deal  of  scolding  and 
glowering,  proceeded  to  tie  me  hand  and  foot,  which  being  done 
to  their  liking,  they  rolled  me  into  a  corner  of  the  hut,  and  left 
me  to  my  meditations. 

And  thus  to  my  meditations  I  was  left  for  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours — that  is,  until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day 
— during  all  of  which  time  I  suffered  inexpressible  pangs  from  the 
tightness  of  the  rope,  and  from  hunger  and  thirst ;  for  the  Mistresses 
Brown,  having  established  me  in  the  corner,  paid  no  further  regard 
to  me  than  if  I  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea,  bringing  me  no 
food,  taking  no  notice  of  my  moans  and  lamentations,  and  petitions 
to  have  my  bonds  slackened  a  little,  and,  indeed,  appearing  to  be , 
almost  unconscious  of  my  existence. 

At  the  end  of  that  period,  the  savages  returned  to  the  village,  as 
I  was  apprized  by  a  great  number  of  wild  yells  that  suddenly  arose 
in  the  forest ;  and  presently  Captain  Brown  came  into  the  hut, 
looking  very  much  fatigued,  and  with  a  handkerchief  bound  round 
his  arm,  as  if  he  had  been  wounded.  He  looked  surprised,  and 
then  laughed  to  see  me  bound,  but  swore  very  majestically  at  his 
wives,  and  immediately  released  me  from  my  painful  bonds,  with 
the  observation,  made  by  way  of  apology  for  the  treatment  I  had 
endured  from  the  furies,  that  "  I  might  thank  my  stars  they  had 
not  taken  a  twist  of  the  rope  round  my  neck,  instead  of  my  wrists 
and  ankles  ! " 

He  then  informed  me,  to  my  great  surprise  and  joy,  that  Captain 
Dicky,  with  his  Bloody  Volunteers,  instead  of  being  devoured  by 
the  savages,  had  outgeneraled,  if  not  even  defeated  them  ;  that  he 
had  taken  advantage  of  the  night  and  the  confidence  of  the  be- 
siegers to  creep  from  his  fortress,  and,  after  an  attack  as  furious 
as  it  was  unexpected,  in  which  he  had  inflicted  considerable  loss 
upon  them,  to  steal  away,  marching  so  vigorously  during  the  whole 
night,  that  the  savages  had  not  been  able  to  overtake  him,  though 
following  hotly  upon  the  track  from  morning  till  noon  ;  and  that, 
in  consequence,  many  of  the  latter,  and  especially  the  Indians  of  the 
village,  had  given  over  the  pursuit  in  despair,  and  returned  home 
in  a  very  bad  humor.  But,  he  added,  there  were  plenty  of  other 
Creeks  in  pursuit  (for  the  enemies  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  were 
not  confined  to  a  single  village),  and  they  would  undoubtedly, 
sooner  or  later,  come  up  with  and  destroy  them  ;  because  Dicky, 


BOBIN    DAY.  271 

supposing  himself  cut  off  from,  the  brigade,  had  turned  in  another 
direction,  and  was  marching  into  the  heart  of  the  Creek  territories. 

While  Brown  was  speaking,  I  was  sensible  of  a  great  hubbub  in 
the  streets,  which  increased  and  approached,  and,  directly,  a  mul- 
titude of  warriors,  fierce  with  paint  and  rage,  came  rushing  into 
the  hut. 

"  Shiver  my  timbers,"  said  Brown,  "  the  rapscallions  are  after 
mischief  !" 

And  so,  indeed,  they  were  ;  for  rushing  upon  me,  the  object  of 
the  visitation,  in  a  body,  and  with  such  eagerness  that  some  of 
them  tumbled  one  over  the  other  to  the  floor,  they  seized  me  with 
violence,  and  began  to  drag  me  from  the  cabin.  I  cried  out  to 
Brown  for  protection  ;  upon  which  he  repeated  one  of  his  pro- 
fanest  interjections,  adding,  with  what  seemed  to  me  more  of  sur- 
prise than  concern,  that  "  he  believed  they  were  going  to  roast  me." 
Nevertheless,  he  made  some  effort  for  my  relief,  demanding,  with 
some  appearance  of  indignation,  "what  they  wanted  with  his 
prisoner,"  and  insisting  they  should  do  me  no  hurt,  "  because 
why,  sink  him,  he  had  adopted  me  into  the  nation." 

The  savages  took  not  the  least  notice  of  his  remonstrances,  but 
haled  me  from  the  cabin  into  the  streets,  where  I  again  saw  all  the 
squaws  and  children  collected  ;  and  they  burst  into  yells,  at  sight  of 
me,  as  they  had  done  before,  crowding  eagerly  and  tumultu- 
ously  around  the  warriors,  who  pulled  me  to  the  river  bank  (for 
the  village  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Tallapoosa),  and  there  tied 
me  by  the  back  to  a  pine  tree  that  grew  near  the  edge  of  the  bluff, 
and  immediately  many  of  the  squaws  ran  up,  bearing  armloads  of 
wood,  which  they  began  to  pile  in  a  ring  around  me. 

It  was  no  longer  to  be  doubted  that  they  were  going  to  burn 
me  alive,  and  that  they  were  in  the  greater  hurry  to  begin  their 
diabolical  pastime,  because  the  night  was  now  coming  on  fast, 
leaving  them  scarce  sufficient  time  to  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  my 
dying  agonies  by  daylight. 

I  looked  around  for  Captain  Brown,  who  had  followed  to  the 
scene  of  execution,  and  was,  I  believe,  doing  all  he  could  among 
the  warriors,  by  argument  and  dissuasion,  to  save  me  from  the 
horrid  fate  to  which  they  had  consigned  me  ;  but  I  was  in  such 
dismal  confusion  and  anguish  of  spirit,  that  I  could  note  nothing 
but  that  he  was  among  them,  and  think  of  nothing  but  the  share 
he  had  had  in  bringing  me  to  the  present  pass.  I  called  to  him,  and 


272  ADVENTURES     OF 

reproached  him  bitterly  with  the  promise  he  had  made  that  my 
life  should  not  be  touched,  and  reminded  him  he  had  pledged  hi& 
honor  for  my  safety.  At  another  moment,  I  might  have  smiled  at 
the  idea  of  appealing  to  the  honor  of  such  a  man  as  Captain 
Brown  ;  but,  after  all,  he  had  something  of  the  kind  yet  left  in 
his  breast,  or  some  dare-devil  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  for  I 
doubt  if  there  was  virtue  in  it,  which  took  the  place  of  honor  in  his 
composition. 

"  I  sticks  to  my  honor,  my  hearty,"  he  cried,  with  a  resolute 
voice,  ll  and  I  don't  intend  the  lubberly  rascals  shall  do  you  any 
hurt." 

And  with  that  he  forced  his  way  up  to  the  tree,  and,  in  open 
defiance  of  the  whole  herd,  began  deliberately  with  a  knife  to  cut 
the  thongs  that  bound  me.  The  savages  seemed  for  a  moment 
staggered  at  the  act,  as  well  as  at  the  intrepid  bearing  of  their 
ally,  but,  presently  relapsing  into  rage,  they  fell  upon  him  tooth 
and  nail,  some  snatching  the  knife  from  his  hands,  and  others  seizing 
him  by  the  shoulders  to  drag  him  away. 

"  Are  you  there,  shiver  me !"  cried  he,  shaking  himself  free 
from  their  grasp,  which  he  immediately  requited  by  some  half 
dozen  or  more  terrible  blows  of  his  fist,  planted  with  admirable 
precision  full  in  the  faces  of  those  who  had  made  most  free  with 
him.  This  exasperated  their  passion  into  frenzy,  in  the  midst  of 
which,  overpowering  him  with  numbers,  he  was  at  last  tumbled  to 
the  ground,  and  in  two  minutes  after,  bound  like  myself  to  a  tree, 
on  the  point  of  sharing  the  death  he  was  no  longer  able  to  prevent. 

But  fate  had  not  willed  we  were  to  perish  the  victims  of  Indian 
tortures.  The  day  was  closing  fast ;  but  it  was  the  darkness  of  a 
tempest  that  shortened  it  prematurely.  A  wild  moaning  sound, 
the  uproar  of  a  hurricane  booming  through  the  forest,  was  heard 
even  above  the  yells  of  the  Indians,  during  their  conflict  with 
Brown ;  and, when  that  was  over,  and  the  whoopings  came  to  an  end, 
it  had  increased  to  such  a  degree  as  to  engage  the  attention  and 
excite  the  fears  of  all.  Indeed,  the  ropes  had  not  well  been  secured 
upon  Brown's  body,  when,  on  a  sudden,  the  trees  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  river,  were  seen  snapping  and  flying  in  the  air,  while 
the  river,  late  so  dark  and  still,  was  converted  into  a  chaos  of 
boiling  foam,  intermixed  with  the  limbs  and  trunks  of  trees, 
as  the  tornado,  with  the  speed  of  the  wild  horse,  swept  across 
it  to  the  Indian  village. 


EOBIN    DAY.  275 

The  savages,  screaming  with  fear,  fled  to  the  refuge  of  their 
cleared  fields  ;  and  so,  doubtless,  would  their  victims  have  done,, 
if  able;  for  I  can  declare,  at  least  for  myself,  that  the  horror  of  that 
dreadful  tumult  of  the  elements,  the  sight  of  great  trees  whirling- 
in  the  air  like  straws,  and  of  the  river  spouting  up  from  its  bed — 
for  no  other  word  will  express  its  commotion — as  if  the  whole  body 
of  waters  were  about  deserting  it,  filled  me  with  such  consternation, 
that  I  quite  forgot  I  was  on  the  point  of  being  burned  alive,  for- 
got, too,  that  death  by  a  thunderbolt  or  falling  tree  would  be  mercy 
compared  with  immolation  by  the  hands  of  torturing  Indians. 

The  tornado  was  on  us  in  a  moment,  and — but  I  have  no  kind 
of  knowledge  what  happened,  or  how  it  happened  ;  but  I  remem- 
ber having  looked,  one  moment,  with  horror  upon  Brown,  who  was. 
venting  terrible  execrations,  in  no  apparent  fear,  but  great  amaze- 
ment at  the  appearance  of  things,  and,  the  next,  finding  him  lugging 
me  down  the  bank  of  the  river,  swearing  as  furiously  as  before,  and 
assuring  me,  "  if  I  was  not  done  for,  now  was  the  time  to  give  them 
blasted  Injuns  the  go-by.  "  And  with  that,  tumbling  me  into  a 
canoe  that  lay  on  the  verge  of  the  river,  and  pushing  her  off  into- 
the  water,  which  was  still  in  great  commotion,  he  jumped  in, 
snatched  up  a  paddle,  and,  giving  me  another,  bade  me  "flap  away 
like  a  mud-terrapin.  " 

The  storm  was  still  blowing,  though  with  moderated  rage;  but  a 
great  rain  had  succeeded,  and  was  now  pouring  in  such  deluges, 
that  as  I  looked  back  to  the  scene  of  the  intended  torture,  I  could 
barely  discern  that  the  village  was  in  ruins,  and  the  trees  that 
divided  it  from  the  river  all  prostrated.  I  could  see  no  Indians  ; 
they  had  not  yet  returned  in  quest  of  their  victims.  The  next 
moment,  the  site  of  the  village  was  concealed  from  my  eyes  by  a 
bend  of  the  river,  down  which  our  canoe  was  urged  at  the  greatest 
speed  we  could  give  it. 


274  ADVENTURES     OP 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 

Robin  is  separated  from  his  fellow  fugitive,  and  after  wandering 
through  the  wilderness,  stumbles  on  his  old  friends  the  Bloody 
Volunteers,  and  with  that  corps  of  heroes,  is  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Spaniards  of  Florida. 

I  ASKED  Captain  Brown  the  particulars  of  our  escape,  but  he  said 
"he  knew  nothing  about  it,  except  that  the  blasted  pine"  (mean- 
ing the  tree  he  was  bound  to),  "  came  down  like  the  mast  of  an 
Injieman  in  an  ox-eye  off  Good  Hope,  and  so  snapped  him  loose, 
and  then  he  had  cut  me  free,  sink  him  ;  and  that  was  all  he  knew 
of  it,  except  that  if  he  ever  turned  Injun  again,  the  devil  might  fry 
him  in  butter  for  breakfast,  split  him." 

And  with  that  he  bade  me  paddle  away,  which  I  did  with  all 
my  strength,  asking  him  the  while  very  anxiously  what  we  were 
to  do,  and  what  was  the  prospect  we  had  of  making  good  our  es- 
cape from  among  the  Indians.  He  replied  that  we  could  do  noth- 
ing better  than  paddle  down  the  stream  as  fast  as  we  could  during 
the  night  ;  that  it  was  lined  with  Creek  towns,  which,  however,  we 
<jould  easily  pass  unobserved  ;  that  two  nights'  paddling  would 
carry  us  out  of  the  heart  of  the  Creek  settlements,  after  which  we 
•could  proceed  on  by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  and  so  he  supposed 
that  in  four  or  five  days  we  should  reach  some  American  fort  or 
other  on  the  Alabama  River. 

"But  what,"  asked  I  anxiously,  "during  these  four  or  five  days 
are  we  to  do  for  food,  having  none  with  us,  and  no  means  of  pro- 
curing any  ?" 

"  What  are  we  to  do  ?  Why  starve"  quoth  Captain  Brown, 
coolly  ;  "  a  thing  I  have  had  great  practice  in,  for  once,  hang  me, 
I  lived  nine  days  on  a  pair  of  shoes  and  a  gallon  of  rum  ;  and 
another  time,  fourteen  days  on  nothing,  except  the  hind  leg  of  a 
iriggur,  which  was  none  of  the  best,  because  how,  it  wasn't  crooked 
and  no  rum,  salt,  or  pepper  to  make  savory.  And  as  for  starving 
five  or  six  days  here  on  a  fresh  river,  where  one  may  fall  to  on  the 


ROBIN    DAY.  2T5 

dry  grass  like  a  hippopotamus  (and  shiver  my  timbers,  I  don't 
believe  grass  is  such  bad  eating  neither,  because  why,  how  do  the 
cows  get  so  fat  on  it)?  I  don't  think  that  any  great  matter. 
And  mayhap  if  we  have  luck,  we  may  catch  a  young  alligator  or 
two  for  dinner,  though  split  me,  it  wouldn't  be  wonderful  if  we- 
were  snapped  up  ourselves  by  the  old  ones." 

I  liked  not  at  all  the  prospect  of  fasting  four  or  five  days,  or 
feeding  on  dry  grass  and  alligators  ;  but  the  thought  that  I  was 
escaping  from  the  savage  stake  determined  me  to  meet  my  fate 
with  fortitude.  It  was  not  my  fate,  however,  to  starve  long  in  the 
company  of  Captain  Brown. 

The  storm  that  followed  the  hurricane  lasted  but  a  short  time, 
but  it  rained  violently  during  nearly  the  whole  night — a  circum- 
stance we  esteemed  no  great  misfortune,  as  it  gave  us  the  better 
hope  of  passing  the  Creek  villages  unnoticed.  We  paddled  on, 
therefore,  with  zeal  and  confidence,  and  by  and  by  when  the  rain 
ceased,  as  it  did  a  little  before  daylight,  we  had  left  the  torture- 
ground  many  a  long  league  behind  us. 

But  while  congratulating  ourselves  upon  our  success,  we  had 
the  misfortune,  while  rounding  a  point  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river, 
suddenly  to  come  in  contact  with  a  great  sawyer,  as  I  believe  they 
call  it,  by  which  our  bark  was  turned  topsy-turvy  and  wrecked, 
and  ourselves  tumbled  into  the  tide. 

Everybody  has  heard  of  the  drowning  sailor  who  caught  hold 
of  the  anchor  for  preservation,  and  went  with  it  to  the  bottom. 
In  the  confusion  of  the  moment,  I  was  guilty  of  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar piece  of  folly,  for  I  grasped  the  tree  which  had  wrecked  us, 
and  upon  which  I  was  no  sooner  mounted  than  it  plumped  under 
water,  then  up,  then  down  again,  giving  me  such  a  tremendous 
seesawing,  and  all  between  wind  and  water,  that  I  lost  the  little 
wits  left  me  by  the  immersion,  and  so  was  on  the  point  of  drown- 
ing before  I  could  think  of  making  an  effort  for  safety.  I  was 
partly  recalled  to  my  senses  by  a  sudden  snorting  from  Captain 
Brown,  who  immediately  roared  out  a  little  down  the  stream, 
whiiherhehad  been  carried  by  the  current,  "  I  say,  split  me,  hilloa 
there,  my  hearty  !  have  you  gone  to  the  bottom  ?  Here's  the  bank 
near  ; — swim,  you  horse-mackerel !" 

But  alas,  the  voice  of  Captain  Brown  pealing  over  the  river, 
awoke  upon  that  solitary  bank  he  recommended  me  to  swim  to, 
and  which  he  was  doubtless  himself  striving  to  reach,  certain 


276  ADVENTURES     OP 

echoes,  the  most  disagreeable  and  fearful  that  could  fall  upon  my 
•ears.  They  were  nothing  less  than  the  yells  of  Indians — first,  a 
single  startling  shriek  that  was  responded  to  by  a  multitude  of 
voices,  as  of  a  party  that  had  just  been  roused  from  sleep  ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  uproar,  a  dozen  or  more  rifles  were  fired  off  in  the 
<dark,  as  I  supposed,  at  Brown,  and  then  I  heard  or  fancied  I  heard 
the  noise  of  moccasined  feet  jumping  into  canoes,  and  the  rattling 
of  paddles  against  their  wooden  sides. 

Roused  by  the  new  danger,  I  immediately  let  go  my  hold  of  the 
tree,  and  swam  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where  not  pausing  to 
look  for  Brown,  or  even  to  think  of  him,  because  I  fancied  the  In- 
dians in  their  canoes  were  close  behind  me,  I  ran  up  the  bank,  and 
was  presently  in  the  depths  of  a  trackless  forest.  I  then  indeed, 
thought  of  Brown,  but  it  was  too  late  to  look  for  him,  supposing 
he  had  escaped  to  the  bank,  as  I  had  done,  and  besides,  I  dare  not 
stop  for  such  a  purpose.  It  was  now  almost  dawn  ;  in  half  an 
hour  the  Indians  would  be  able  to  follow  me  by  my  trail,  and  well 
I  knew  how  necessary  it  was  to  make  the  most  of  the  advance  I 
had  of  them.  I  ran  on,  therefore,  through  the  woods,  and  by  sun- 
rise I  reckoned  I  had  left  the  river  five  or  six  miles  behind  me.  I 
then  slackened  my  pace  somewhat,  but  not  much,  being  still  in 
fear  the  Indians  might  overtake  me. 

Towards  midday  I  felt  a  little  more  at  ease,  and  was  able  to 
collect  my  thoughts,  and  consider — though  I  did  not  come  to  a 
stand  to  do  so — what  I  was  to  do,  thus  left  by  my  cruel  fate 
.alone  in  a  wide  wilderness.  I  had  treasured  in  my  memory  all 
that  Captaim  Dicky  and  Brown  had  said  of  American  armies 
entering  the  Creek  Nation  from  the  East  and  South,  and  of  forts 
recently  built  on  the  Alabama  River.  But  how  I  was  to  find  either 
an  army  or  fort,  unless  I  should  stumble  upon  them  by  mere 
accident,  was  not  very  clear,  as  the  east  was  a  wide  quarter  of  the 
compass,  and  the  Alabama  a  pretty  long  river.  It  appeared  to  me 
but  a  hopeless  task  to  go  in  search  of  either  ;  yet,  as  it  was  neces- 
sary to  go  in  some  direction,  I  thought  my  best  course  would  be 
to  proceed  to  the  Southwest,  which  from  a  general  notion  I  had  of 
the  country,  I  fancied  would  bring  me  to  the  Alabama  River,  near 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Tombecbee,  where  I  hoped  to  find  my- 
self in  the  neighborhood  of  forts  or  settlements. 

But,  alas,  I  soon  discovered  it  was  much  easier  to  resolve  upon  a 
course  than  to  pursue  it.  The  sun,  upon  which  I  chiefly  depended 


ROBIN    DAY.  277 

to  guide  me  on  my  way,  presently  refused  to  shine,  and  for  not 
that  day  only,  but  several  others,  for  it  was  now  November,  the 
month  of  fog  and  storm;  and,  when  night  camc,and  it  was  even  clear, 
I  found  there  was  no  seeing  the  stars  through  the  overarching 
boughs  of  the  forest  that  spread  around  me,  apparently  without 
end.  I  could,  indeed,  sometimes  manage  to  determine  the  points  of 
the  compass  ;  but  the  end  was,  that  I  soon  became  bewildered,  lost 
in  the  wild  desert,  in  which — not  to  dwell  upon  an  adventure  that 
was  varied  only  by  my  fears  and  distresses — I  wandered  for  seven 
weary,  dreary  days,  subsisting  upon  nuts,  when  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  find  them,  which  did  not  happen  every  day,  and  more 
especially  toward  the  last,  when  I  entered  upon  a  barren,  sandy 
country,  upon  which  nothing  grew  but  pine  trees  ;  and  where, 
therefore,  I  had  the  best  prospect  of  dying  of  famine.  But  there 
was  relief  in  store  for  me,  and  it  came  at  a  moment  when,  being 
quite  worn  out  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  reduced  to  despair,  I 
stood  most  in  need  of  it. 

It  was  the  seventh  day  of  my  flight,  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  had 
thrown  myself  upon  the  ground,  as  I  almost  hoped,  to  die  ;  when  I 
heard  at  a  distance  a  sudden  firing  of  guns,  at  first  a  volley,  and 
then  an  irregular  succession  of  discharges,  which  convinced  me 
there  was  a  battle  waging  nigh  at  hand.  This  dispelled  my  despair, 
and  my  first  thought  was  to  fly,  not  doubting  that,  where  there 
was  fighting,  there  must  be  Indians  also  ;  but  remembering  that 
although  Indians  might  be  engaged  on  one  side,  there  must  be 
white  men  on  the  other,  and  being  emboldened  by  my  desperate 
condition,  I  resolved  to  steal  towards  the  field  of  contention,  and, 
if  possible,  effect  a  junction  with  the  supposed  white  men. 

This  proved  to  be  no  very  difficult  matter  ;  for  although  the  firing 
suddenly  ceased,  so  that  I  was  deprived  of  the  means  of  directing 
my  course,  I  presently  saw  a  body  of  men,  twelve  in  number,  march- 
ing pretty  rapidly  through  the  woods  towards  me,  all  of  them 
armed,  and  all,  as  I  knew  by  their  clothes,  good  American  back- 
woodsmen. I  ran  towards  them,  crying  out  that  I  was  "  a  friend," 
not  desiring  they  should  shoot  at  me  as  an  enemy  ;  and,  accordingly, 
I  arrived  among  them  unharmed,  and  immediately  discovered 
myself  in  the  midst  of  my  old  friends,  the  Bloody  Volunteers — or 
what  remained  of  that  once  formidable  company,  their  gallant 
leader,  Captain  Dicky  Dare,  still  marching  at  their  head. 

Yes  !  there  they  were,  twelve  heroes  and  men  of  might,  who 


278  ADVENTURES    OF 

finding  their  return  to  the  brigade  cut  off,  had  carved  their  way 
through  the  heart  of  the  Indian  nation,  and  fighting  and  flying 
together,  had  arrived  in  the  piny  desert,  bringing,  not  merely 
famine  and  fatigue  such  as  I  endured,  but  a  host  of  enemies,  by 
whom  their  march  was  continually  harassed,  and  their  numbers 
thinned,  and  from  whom  they  owed  their  daily  escapes  only  to  the 
military  genius  of  their  commander.  Where  they  were,  or 
whither  they  were  going,  they  knew  no  more  than  I ;  nor  had  they 
known  for  many  days.  Some  attempts  the  valiant  Dicky  had 
made  to  penetrate  both  to  the  east  and  west,  to  execute  his  pre- 
concerted plan,  in  case  of  necessity,  of  effecting  a  junction  with 
one  of  the  American  armies  ;  but  those  quarters  were  precisely  the 
ones  in  which  he  found  it  impossible  to  proceed ;  and  during  the 
last  four  or  five  days  he  had  been  content  to  march  to  any  point 
of  the  compass  which  his  fate,  or  his  foes,  permitted. 

Great  as  were  the  wonder  and  joy  on  both  sides — for  the  Bloody 
Volunteers  were  all  rejoiced  to  see  me  alive  again,  having  supposed 
me  long  since  dead,  and  Captain  Dicky,  who  looked  half -starved 
himself,  pulled  a  handful  of  corn  from  his  pocket,  being  all  the  food 
he  had  remaining,  and  generously  divided  it  with  me — there  was 
no  time  to  indulge  in  congratulations.  There  were  Indians  close 
behind  ;  the  Bloody  Volunteers  had  just  repelled  their  attack,  but 
it  might  be  at  any  moment  repeated.  "  Push  on, "  was  the  word  ; 
and  away  we  went — whither,  as  I  said  before,  no  one  knew,  but 
with  the  encouraging  assurance  of  our  captain,  that,  "  whichever 
way  we  went,  we  must  sooner  or  later,  come  to  someplace  or  other." 

Fortunately,  our  commander's  words  were  soon  verified  ;  for  we 
had  not  continued  the  march  more  than  an  hour,  when  our  ears 
were  unexpectedly  saluted  by  the  tones  of  p.  bugle  pealing  through 
the  woods.  Whence  could  such  a  sound  proceed  save  from  some 
American  fort  or  camp  ?  We  pressed  onward  with  renewed  speed, 
and  by  and  by  caught  sight,  not  of  a  fort  or  camp,  but  of  a  train  of 
forty  or  fifty  mounted  men,  all  in  handsome  uniform,  who  came 
trooping  along  through  the  forest,  but  at  sight  of  us  suddenly 
halted,  and  we  perceived  them  unslinging  carbines,  which  they 
had  hanging  at  their  backs,  as  if  preparing  to  meet  an  enemy. 
Then  galloping  towards  us,  they  came  to  a  second  halt  within  a  hun- 
dred paces  of  us,  while  their  leader,  parting  from  them,  rode  up 
nearer,  and  saluted  us,  to  our  surprise,  in  the  Spanish  language,  de- 
manding who  we  were,  and  whence  we  came  ;  questions  which  I, 


ROBIN    DAY.  279 

being  the  only  one  of  the  company  who  understood  the  language, 
interpreted  to  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  as  well  as  the  reply  of  Captain 
Dicky  to  the  officer,  that  we  were  a  detachment  of  such  a  brigade 
of  such  a  division  of  the  Tennessee  army.  Upon  this,  the  officer 
very  politely  informed  us  we  were  his  prisoners,  and  begged  we 
would  do  him  the  favor  to  surrender  our  arms  to  those  of  his  Majesty 
the  King  of  Spain,  upon  whose  territories  we  were  now  unlawfully 
bearing  them  ;  hinting,  at  the  same  time,  that  our  refusal  to  do  so 
would  place  him  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  cutting  us  to 
pieces. 

This  was  a  greater  surprise  than  the  other,  though,  it  proved  by 
no  means  painful  to  the  Bloody  Volunteers ;  who,  repelling  a  sug- 
gestion of  the  indomitable  Dicky  that  "  he  thought  they  might  whip 
the  haughty  Dons,  if  they  would,  for  all  of  their  numbers,"  insisted 
upon  laying  down  their  arms  immediately,  whereby  they  would 
escape  all  future  danger  from  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  pangs  of 
starvation  that  now  afflicted  them. 

"  Well, "  said  Captain  Dicky,  with  a  sigh,  "  it  can't  be  helped, 
then;  and  perhaps  the  American  Government  would  not  sustain 
us,  even  if  we  trounced  them,  because  we  are  at  peace  with  Spain. 
But  the  consolation  is,  the  greatest  generals  and  bravest  soldiers 
have  been  sometimes  prisoners  of  war.  Tell  the  officer,"  said  he, 
"  we  surrender  to  the  arms  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain.  " 

So  the  twelve  of  fame  gave  up  their  arms,  and  were  forthwith 
marched  off  to  the  town  of  Pensacola,  from  which  we  were  only 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  distant,  and  which  we  reached  early  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  following  day,  being  treated  very  well  on  the 
road,  and  sumptuously  feasted. 


280  ADVENTURES    OP 


CHAPTER  L. 

The  Bloody  Volunteers  are  carried  to  Pensacola^  where  Robin  Day 
receives  an  agreeable  surprise. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived,  Captain  Dicky's  eleven  followers  were 
carried  to  a  fortress  near  the  town,  where  they  were  confined ; 
while  the  young  hero  and  myself — I  being  invited  to  officiate  as 
interpreter — were  conducted  to  the  house  of  the  Intendente,  or 
mlitary  governor  of  the  town,  the  Senor  Coronel  Aubrey,  or  de 
Aubrey  ;  for  such  Captain  Yaldez,  our  captor,  told  us  was  his 
name  ;  and  upon  my  remarking  that  the  name  appeared  to  me 
rather  English  than  Spanish,  he  admitted  with  a  shrug  that  seemed 
to  be  full  of  meaning,  though  I  could  not  divine  what  the 
meaning  was,  that  his  Excelencia  the  Coronel  was  but  a  half  Cas- 
tilian  after  all,  nay,  that  he  was  a  North  American  by  birth,  who 
had  left  the  Carolinas  at  the  period  of  the  American  Revolution, 
and  entered  the  Spanish  colonial  service,  in  which  he  had  remained 
ever  since.  And  Valdez  added,  with  another  shrug,  as  profoundly 
significative  and  as  incomprehensible  as  the  first,  that  Colonel 
Aubrey  had  acquired  wealth  as  well  as  power,  while  many  pure- 
blooded  Castilians  might  be  found  in  the  service  of  his  sovereign, 
who,  caramba  !  were  no  richer  than  he  was. 

A  few  moments  saw  us  ushered  into  the  presence  of  this  dig- 
nitary, a  fine,  and,  indeed,  noble-looking  man  of  fifty  or  fifty-five 
years  ;  in  whom,  notwithstanding*  the  difference  of  years,  I  was 
struck  with  a  resemblance  to  the  portrait  of  the  Spanish  gentle- 
man which  I  had  so  much  admired  in  the  drawing-room  of  Mr. 
Bloodmoney.  And  to  prove  that  he  could  be  no  other  than  the 
original  of  that  picture,  I  saw  hanging  upon  the  wall  of  the  apart- 
ment in  which  he  received  us,  a  copy,  the  very  counterpart  of 
that  portrait.  Allowing  for  the  difference  of  years,  there  was 
but  one  characteristic  in  which  the  Intendent  differed  from  his 
effigy.  The  countenance  of  the  latter  expressed  a  deep  and  set- 
tled melancholy  ;  whereas  Colonel  Aubrey's  was  in  the  main  a 


ROBIN   DAY.  281 

-cheerful  one,  or  at  most  sedately  cheerful.     "  But,"  thought  I  to 
myself,  "  a  man  is  not  in  sorrow  all  his  life." 

He  received  us — or  rather,  I  should  say  he  received  Captain 
Dicky,  whose  regimentals,  though  greatly  the  worse  for  his  forest 
campaign,  distinguished  him  as  my  superior — with  courtesy,  but 
seemed  very  much  surprised  at  his  juvenile  appearance  ;  indeed  he 
turned  to  our  captor,  and  asked  him  with  some  sharpness — 
fortunately  for  the  pride  of  Captain  Dicky,  the  question  was  in 
Spanish — whether  he  had  not  made  a  mistake,  and  brought  him 
the  drummer  instead  of  the  leader  of  the  American  party  ? 

"  Upon  my  soul,"  replied  the  officer,  "  the  little  fellow  is  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  whole  party.  And,"  he  added,  casting  his 
eye  upon  me,  "if  we  are  to  believe  what  the  young  gentleman,  his 
friend  and  follower,  says  of  him  and  his  feats,  it  is  time  the  Amer- 
ican Government  had  made  him  a  general  of  division." 

The  Intendant  here  gave  me  a  scrutinizing  look,  which  ended  in 
a  smile,  and  he  addressed  himself  to  the  business  in  hand,  by  asking 
a  great  many  questions  in  regard  to  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  their 
objects  in  thus  invading  the  territories  of  his  Catholic  Majesty 
— whether  they  were  acting  under  the  orders  of  General  Jackson, 
or  any  other  American  commander — and  a  multitude  of  other 
inquiries,  such  as  were,  doubtless,  proper  to  the  occasion  ;  and  to 
all  which  Captain  Dicky,  as  soon  as  I  had  rendered  them  into 
English,  returned  the  most  appropriate  and  dignified  answers. 

He  assured  the  Governor  upon  his  honor  as  a  soldier,  that  neither 
his  government  nor  commanding  general  had  the  least  idea  of 
violating  the  territory  of  their  Spanish  friends  ;  that  the  invasion 
was  an  affair  of  accident,  attributable  solely  to  him,  and  to  him 
only  on  account  of  his  ignorance  of  the  Spanish  boundaries.  In 
short,  he  answered  everything,  and  said  everything  necessary  to 
allay  the  suspicions  that  might  be  entertained  by  the  Governor  as 
to  any  sinister  movements  of  the  American  army  in  progress  or 
designed  against  his  little  Intendancy. 

So  far  all  went  very  well ;  but  a  difficulty  unexpectedly  arose 
when  his  Excellency,  politely  assuring  Captain  Dicky  that  his  ex- 
planations were  quite  satisfactory,  begged  to  be  permitted  to  look 
over  his  papers — that  is  to  say,  his  commission,  and  the  orders  of 
his  brigadier,  in  the  attempted  execution  of  which  he  had  been 
driven  so  very  far  from  headquarters.  The  difficulty  was  that 
Captain  Dicky  had  no  papers  ;  the  irregularity  of  his  election,  and 


282  ADVENTURES    OF 

the  hurry  of  affairs,  had  prevented  his  receiving,  before  marching 
to  the  theatre  of  war,  a  formal  commission  from  the  executive  of 
Tennessee  ;  and  as  for  orders,  he  had  never  yet  been  distinguished 
by  any  but  verbal  ones  from  his  general. 

To  remove  the  difficulty,  .Captain  Dare  entered  into  a  labored 
explanation  of  the  circumstances,  from  the  period  of  his  election 
up  to  his  surrender  to  the  arms  of  his  Majesty  of  Spain,  including 
the  whole  of  his  adventures  during  the  flight  through  the  Indian 
country — an  exploit  that  can  be  compared  only  to  the  memorable 
Anabasis  of  the  Ten  Thousand  ;  in  which  Colonel  Aubrey  seemed 
much  interested,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  diverted  ;  for  he  laughed 
once  or  twice  very  heartily.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  could  as  a 
gentleman  (for,  upon  his  demanding  what  my  rank  was  in  the 
company,  I  took  the  opportunity,  which  the  ragged  appearance  of 
my  outer  man  rendered  desirable,  to  tell  him  I  was  a  gentleman 
volunteer,  a  soldier  of  fortune  serving  in  the  ranks),  indorse  all  the 
statements  of  my  friend  Captain  Dicky  ;  and  upon  my  hinting  in 
reply,  that  my  captivity  among  the  Indians,  and  long  sep  ration 
from  the  company,  rendered  me  an  incompetent  authority  as  to  a 
portion  of  the  statements,  though  I  had  no  doubt  of  their  truth,  he 
became  very  anxious  for  the  recital  of  my  adventures  also,  which 
I  gave  him  that  is  to  say,  my  adventures  in  the  Indian  nation 
with  Captain  Brown ;  whom,  however,  for  my  own  sake,  I  took 
care  to  represent  as  a  mere  fellow  in  misfortune,  without  saying 
anything  of  his  rascalities  and  piratical  character  ;  and  it  seemed 
to  me,  that  while  equally  diverted,  he  was  still  more  interested  by 
them  than  he  had  even  been  with  the  exploits  of  Captain  Dare. 

These  representations  satisfied  him  that  Captain  Dare's  state- 
ments were  to  be  relied  on  ;  or  at  least,  he  said  as  much  ;  upon 
which,  Captain  Dicky  assumed,  in  his  turn,  the  character  of  ques- 
tioner, and  demanded  to  know  of  his  Excellency  his  intentions  in 
regard  to  himself  and  his  Bloody  Volunteers  ;  whether  they  were 
to  be  detained  as  prisoners  of  war  (in  which  case  he  begged  the 
Intendant  to  observe  he  protested  against  the  detention,  as  an  act 
unfriendly  and  injurious  to  the  United  States,  the  ally  of  Spain), 
or  whether  they  were  to  he  treated  as  friendly  visitants,  and  al- 
lowed to  depart  immediately  to  their  own  country  ;  in  which  lat- 
ter event,  Dicky  declared  that,  having  now  found  out  how  the 
land  lay,  he  had  no  doubt  he  could  conduct  his  command  to  the 
American  lines  at  Mobile. 


ROBIN    DAY.  283 

To  these  interrogatories  the  Governor  replied,  with  a  smile,  that 
the  affair  being  a  very  extraordinary  one,  he  did  not  feel  himself 
at  liberty  to  decide  upon  the  course  necessary  to  be  pursued,  until 
he  had  deliberated  further  on  the  subject  ;  but,  for  the  present, 
he  said  he  would  consider  Captain  Dare  only  in  the  light  of  a  guest, 
and  immediately  requested  the  honor  of  his  company  to  dinner  ; 
an  invitation  which,  on  the  faith  of  my  being  a  gentleman  volun- 
teer, as  he  said,  with  some  emphasis  on  the  phrase,  he  extended 
also  to  me. 

But  here  another  difficulty  arose,  founded  on  the  condition  of 
our  habiliments  ;  in  which  we  "were  the  more  loath  to  appear  at  a 
gentleman's  table,  as  Captain  Valdez  had  hinted  the  Governor  had 
a  very  charming  daughter,  who  would,  do.ubtless,  preside  on  the 
occasion  ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  confess  on  Dicky's  account,  that, 
captain  as  he  was,  he  had  not  a  shirt  to  his  back,  having  torn  it 
into  bandages  for  his  wounded  volunteers  ;  while  I  lamented,  on 
my  own  behalf  the  ferocity  of  the  Indians  and  the  fury  of  the  bri- 
ers, which  had  quite  destroyed  the  beauty  of  a  handsome  hunting 
frock  I  had  bought  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign.  Colonel 
Aubrey  laughed,  and  said  he  was  happy  to  have  it  in  his  power  to 
relieve  us  from  so  serious  a  dilemma  ;  and  with  that,  he  conducted 
us  into  a  chamber,  where  we  were  left  in  charge  of  a  negro  servant, 
who  supplied  us  with  linen  from  his  master's  wardrobe,  and  the 
means  of  making  a  very  gentlemanly  and  luxurious  toilet.  And 
by  and  by  another  slave  made  his  appearance,  bearing  for  my 
use  a  handsome  military  frock  ;  which,  as  it  very  nearly  fitted 
me,  I  fancied  the  Governor  had  obtained  from  some  juvenile 
officer,  to  serve  my  purpose,  until  I  could  fit  myself  out  in  a 
manner  becoming  a  gentleman  volunteer. 

Having  C9mpleted  our  toilet  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
both,  and  rejoined  the  courteous  Intendent,  we  were  immediately 
conducted  by  him  into  a  sumptuous  saloon,  where  we  found  a 
table  already  spread,  with  many  black  servants  around  it,  besides 
whom  there  where  three  other  persons  in  the  room,  one  an  old 
man  in  a  clergyman's  dress,  his  Excellency's  chaplain  ;  the  second 
a  stiff  and  starched  matron,  whom  I  took  for  a  duenna,  but 
who  proved  to  be  merely  the  cas'era,  or  housekeeper,  and  the 
third  a  young  lady,  the  fair  daughter,  as  I  could  well  believe,  of 
the  Intendent.  But,  heaven  and  earth  !  what  was  my  amazement 
.and  confusion,  when,  looking  bashfully  up  into  the  face  of  the 


284  ADVENTURES     OF 

senorita,  who  received  the  two  strangers  with  graceful  courtesies, 
I  beheld  the  beautiful  somnambulist,  the  Spanish  girl  to  whose 
gratitude  or  humanity  I  had  owed  my  escape  from  Mr.  Blood- 
money's  house,  on  the  memorable  night  of  the  burglary !  She 
recognized  me  at  the  same  moment,  and  her  confusion  was  al- 
most as  great  as  my  own  ;  though  with  me  to  surprise  was 
added  the  fear  and  anticipated  shame  of  exposure  :  "  In  a  mo- 
ment," thought  I  to  myself  with  such  thrills  of  dismay  and  an- 
guish as  I  had  never  before  felt,  "  I  become,  instead  of  a  gentleman 
volunteer,  a  rascally  housebreaker,  angrily  and  ignominiously  ex- 
pelled from  the  Intendent's  house,  perhaps  consigned  to  a  Spanish 
prison." 

At  that  very  moment  of  discovery,  Colonel  Aubrey,  who  had 
already  presented  Captain  Dicky  to  his  daughter,  was  in  the  act 
of  commanding  me,  el  Senor  Voluntario,  as  he  called  me,  to  her 
notice.  He  smiled  at  my  agitation,  as  supposing  it,  perhaps,  the 
mere  bashfulness  of  a  gawky  boy  ;  but  when  he  saw  that  his 
daughter  shared  my  confusion,  he  was  struck  with  astonishment, 
which  immediately  darkened  into  suspicion  arid  displeasure. 

"  How,  Isabel !  "  he  cried  with  a  frown,  "  you  have  then  seen 
the  young  man  before  ?  " 

"  Si,  padre  mio  querido  !  yes,  my  dear  father,"  cried  the  lady, 
with  a  voice  whose  faltering  tones  cut  me  to  the  soul,  and  I  thought 
I  should  have  sunk  through  the  floor  ;  for  the  next  word,  and 
all  must  be  revealed,  and  the  poor  housebreaker — Fy  !  I  thought 
of  Captain  Brown  and  the  Indian  stakes  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tallapoosa,  and  I  wished  the  Creeks  had  finished  their  work,  and 
burned  us  alive — him  for  his  villainy  in  making  me  a  burglar,  and 
me,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  save  me  the  humiliation  of  the 
present  moment. 

But  the  humiliation  endured  only  for  a  moment ;  the  voice  of 
Isabel  ceased  to  falter,  her  eye  to  dwell  upon  the  floor,  and  the 
angelic  creature — for  such  she  now  appeared — added,  with  equal 
firmness  and  address,  "  I  have  seen  him,  my  dear  father  ;  and  I 
Owe  it,  perhaps,  to  the  young  gentleman  that  I  am  now  here  alive 
before  you  !  It  was  in  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house  :  I  wandered  in 
my  sleep — Santa  Maria  !  I  shall  never  wander  in  sleep  again  ! — 
a  robber  was  in  the  house  :  he  seized  me  ;  and — and — yes,  mi 
padre ! "  she  cried  with  animation,  "  this  young  man  saved  me 
from  his  murderous  clutches  !" 


ROBIN   DAY.  285 

At  this  dreadful  story,  for  dreadful  it  seemed  to  all,  Colonel 
Aubrey  turned  as  pale  as  a  ghost,  the  ecclesiastic  crossed  himself, 
the  cas'era  fetched  a  half  shriek,  the  negroes  rolled  their  eyes,  and 
Dicky  Dare,  giving  me  a  nudge  on  the  ribs,  whispered  eagerly — 
"I  say,  by  Julius  Caesar,  what's  all  this  the  girl's  talking  about  ? 

"  Seized  by  a  robber  !"  at  last  ejaculated  the  Intendant  ;  "your 
life  endangered  ! — in  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house,  too  ?  and  I  not 
told  a  word  of  it !" 

"  Alas  !"  cried  Isabel,  "  the  Senor  Bloodmoney  was  so  much 
affected  that  such  a  thing  should  happen  to  me  in  his  house,  and 
the  Senora,  his  wife,  so  deeply  afflicted,  so  much  afraid  of  your 
anger,  that,  at  her  entreaty,  I  promised,  before  we  sailed,  you 
should  not  know  of  it  ;  and,  though  loath  to  conceal  anything 
from  my  dear  father,  I  should  not  have  told  you  what  may  be  of 
disadvantage  to  the  Senor  Bloodmoney  to  be  known  (though,  in- 
deed, it  was  not  his  fault,  but  the  audacious  villainy  of  the  rob- 
ber),— had  it  not  been  for  my  surprise  at  so  suddenly  seeing  the 
young  gentleman  who  rescued  me." 

What  an  amazing  transition  in  my  position,  as  well  as  feelings  ! 
From  a  burglar,  I  was,  as  by  a  touch  of  magic,  converted  into  a 
hero  ;  and  from  emotions  of  terror  and  disgrace  I  passed  into 
sensations  of  the  most  rapturous  delight  and  exultation.  My 
original  feelings  toward  the  lovely  Isabel  were,  as  I  have  long 
since  confessed,  of  a  highly  romantic  and  tender  character  ;  and 
such  was  the  nature  of  those  which  now  seized  me,  that  I  felt 
an  almost  irresistible  impulse  to  catch  her  in  my  arms,  as  the 
scoundrel  Brown  had  done,  and  profess  I  know  not  how  much  of 
love  and  gratitude.  And  perhaps  I  might,  in  the  fervor  of  the 
moment,  have  committed  myself  by  some  such  demonstrations  of 
affection,  had  not  Colonel  Aubrey  been  prompted  by  a  similar  im- 
pulse in  favor  of  myself,  whom  he  immediately  caught  in  his 
arms,  calling  me  the  preserver  of  his  child,  his  friend,  his  bene- 
factor, and  I  know  not  what  beside. 

But  I  do  know  that  I  had  at  that  moment  some  idea  of  what 
might  be  the  feelings  of  a  modest  young  women  in  a  man's  arms, 
by  experiencing  those  of  a  modest  young  man  in  a  similar  predica- 
ment. I  was,  in  a  word,  very  anxious  to  get  out  of  them,  not- 
withstanding all  the  Intendent's  obliging  expressions  ;  and  per- 
haps I  blushed  the  harder,  after  the  embrace  was  over,  for  Dicky 
Dare,  whose  curiosity  was  waxing  hot  to  penetrate  the  mysteries 


286  ADVENTURES    OF 

of  my  good  fortune,  giving  me  a  second  nudge  and  whisper, 

"I  say,  by  Julius  Caesar,  what  was  the  old  gentleman  hugging 
you  for?  And  why  the  deuce  don't  we  sit  down  to  dinner,&be- 
fore  it  spoils  by  standing  ?" 


BOBIN   DAY.  287 


CHAPTER  LI. 

In  which  Robin  Day  makes  a  rapid  progress  in  the  regards  of  the 

fair  Isabel. 

It  seemed  as  if  Colonel  Aubrey  divined  the  meaning  of  Captain 
Dicky's  questions,  or,  at  least,  the  latter  one  ;  for  banishing  his 
fervor  with  a  smile,  he  bade  us  "  sit  down  ;"  adding,  "  that  from 
all  I  had  told  him  of  my  forest  feats,  he  did  not  doubt  I  would 
prefer  a  good  dinner  to  all  the  fine  words  he  could  utter,  or  the 
warm  embraces  he  could  give  me."  But  as  soon  as  the  reverend 
padre  had  delivered  a  benediction  on  the  meal,  and  we  had  taken 
our  seats,  he  renewed  the  subject,  and  requested  that  his  daughter 
would  now  inform  him  of  the  particulars  of  the  adventure  in  which 
I  had  played  a  part  so  interesting  and  questionable. 

But  Isabel  looked  again  embarrassed,  and  gave  me  a  quick  un- 
easy glance,  while  she  replied  . 

"  Indeed,  my  father,"  she  said,  "  I  have  told  you  nearly  all  I 
know.  As  to  the  robber,  he  was  a  vile  fellow,  a  sailor,  Mr.  Blood- 
money  informed  me,  who  had  applied  to  him  to  have  the  command 
of  the  vessel,  which  it  was  supposed  Mr.  Bloodmoney  was  equip- 
ping as  a  privateer  ;  and  the  wretch,  to  convince  Mr.  Blood- 
money  he  was  the  best  man  for  his  purpose,  assured  him  he  had 
passed  his.  life  in  an  employment,  which  is  doubtless  the  best 
school  for  privateersmen — piracy — nay,  that  he  was  a  famous  vil- 
lain too,  called  Tiger-cat,  or  Hell-cat,  or  some  such  name  of  re- 
nown   " 

"  Hah  !"  said  Colonel  Aubrey,  "  there  was  some  such  fellow  in 
the  gulf  here,  that  I  have  heard  of  ;  El  Gato  I  think  they  call 
him,  and  sometimes  El  Infernal  But  they  said  he  was  marooned 
or  murdered  by  his  own  men,  because  too  bloody-minded  a  villain 
even  for  a  pirate.  And  this  fellow  would  have  commanded  the 
brig  then  ?  What  said  Bloodmoney  to  that  ?" 

"Oh, "replied  the  damsel,  "he  world  have  none  of  him,  and 
threatened  besides,  to  hand  him  over  to  the  police.  But  Mr. 


288  ADVENTURES    OF 

Bloodmoney  did  not,  in  reality,  believe  he  was  the  rogue  he  so 
freely  professed  to  be,  thinking  that  that  was  a  mere  braggadocio, 
crack-brained  piece  of  bantering  ;  and  he  threatened  him  with  the 
police  only  to  get  rid  of  him.  But,  however  this  might  be,  the 
man  broke  into  the  house  that  very  night,  collecting  with  unexam- 
pled audacity  all  the  plate  and  other  valuables  ;  with  which  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  got  off  undisturbed,  had  it  not  been  for 
my  misfortune  in  walking  in  my  sleep,  and  so  stumbling  upon  him 
in  the  midst  of  his  operations.  He  was  seized  and  overpowered, 
yet  made  his  escape,  after  dangerously  stabbing  a  watchman,  who 
had  been  called  in  from  the  street  to  take  charge  of  him.  And 
this,  my  dear  fathor,"  added  the  maiden,  giving  me  another  uneasy 
glance,  "  is  all  I  know  of  the  man  ;  for  the  brig  sailed  away  from 
Philadelphia  with  me  a  few  days  after." 

"  All  this  is  very  well,"  quoth  the  Intendant  ;  "  but  you  say 
nothing  of  my  young  friend  here,  who,  I  presume,  is  a  friend  or 
connection  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  I  believe  so,"  said  the  young  lady,  giving  me  a 
third,  and  very  piteous  look.  "  But  as  I  had  never  seen  him  be- 
fore, and  sailed  away  immediately  after " 

"  Never  seen  him  before  !"  said  Colonel  Aubrey  with  surprise  ; 
upon  which,  I,  feeling  that  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  his  astonish- 
ment going  any  further,  and  perceiving  that  the  fair  Isabel  was  no 
longer  able  to  help  me,  hastened  to  explain  that  I  was,  in  reality, 
neither  friend  nor  kinsman  of  Mr.  Bloodmoney,  and  that  I  had 
never  been  in  his  house  before  the  eventful  night ;  but  that  I  was 
on  my  way  to  him  with  letters  of  recommendation  and  credit  from 
a  gentleman,  Dr.  Howard,  who  was  his  connection,  and  my  friend. 

"  Yes,"  cried  Isabel,  here  eagerly  interrupting  me  ;  "  Dr.  How- 
ard came  himself,  soon  afterwards  ;  and  Mr.  Bloodmoney  told  me 
he  was  his  kinsman,  and  a  man  of  great  wealth  and  respectability." 

Encouraged  by  this  interruption  of  the  young  lady,  who,  I  could 
not  but  see,  was  as  anxious  as  myself  to  make  the  most  of  every 
favorable  circumstance,  and  to  avoid  all  unfavorable  ones,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  assure  the  Intendent,  that  "  a  strange  accident"  (and  so 
it  was  a  strange  accident),  "together  with  my  ignorance  of  the 
city,  and  other  circumstances,  had  prevented  my  reaching  Mr. 
Bloodmoney's  house  until  a  late  hour — in  fact,  when  all  were  asleep; 
but  that  I  should  never  regret  the  irregularity  of  a  visit  which  had 
enabled  me  to  be  of  service  to  the  young  lady,  his  daughter." 


ROBIN    DAY.  289 

"  Nor  I  neither,  by  my  faith,"  said  Colonel  Aubrey,  warmly. 
"  But  I  wonder  Bloodmoney  did  not  inform  me  of  the  affair,  were 
it  only  to  afford  me  an  opportunity  to  show  what  kind  of  gratitude 
was  due  to  the  preserver  of  my  Isabel." 

He  then  asked  me  what  was  my  relationship  to  Dr.  Howard  ;  to 
which  I,  being  seized  with  a  devil  of  mendacity  and  deception,  for 
I  was  ashamed  to  confess  my  humble  origin  in  the  presence  of  the  fair 
Isabel,  replied  that  it  was  a  very  distant  one  ;  but  added  (what  I 
was  not  ashamed  to  confess),  that  I  owed  everything,  my  educa- 
tion and  even  my  subsistence,  to  his  benevolence.  And  I  would 
have  added  more  in  his  praise,  had  not  Colonel  Aubrey,  with  great 
delicacy,  immediately  shifted  the  subject,  by  asking  jocularly, 
"  whether  I  had  gone  to  Mr.  Bloodmoney  for  the  purpose  of  turn- 
ing privateersman,  like  honest  Captajn  Hellcat?" 

Upon  my  replying  that,  in  fact,  I  had,  he  looked  surprised,  and 
laughed  very  heartily,  and  informed  me  that  the  vessel  was  no  pri- 
vateer, after  all ;  that  he  had  bought  her,  through  Mr.  Blood- 
money,  and  fitted  her  out  for  his  own  purposes  ;  that  she  lay  then 
in  the  port,  though  under  another  name  ;  for  he  had  called  her 
La  Querida,  because  she  brought  back  to  him  his  quericla,  or  be- 
loved Isabel,  after  two  years  of  absence,  which  the  young  lady  had 
passed  in  Philadelphia,  completing  her  education. 

He  then  alarmed  me  by  a  question,  which  was,  doubtless,  very 
natural  and  appropriate  to  the  occasion — what,  since  I  had  set  out 
to  go  to  sea,  had  turned  me  from  my  purpose,  and  converted  me 
into  a  soldier  ?  But  I  got  over  the  difficulty  by  hinting  that  my 
friend  and  schoolmate  Dicky  Dare,  had  persuaded  me  to  follow 
him  to  the  wars — and,  truly,  had  he  not  ? — an  explanation  that 
perfectly  satisfied  the  Intendent.  And  from  that  moment,  giving 
over  his  questions,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  business  of  the  ta- 
ble, bestowing  a  due  share  of  his  attentions  upon  Captain  Dicky, 
who  had  been  previously  rescued  from  neglect  by  the  fair  Isabel 
addressing  him  in  English,  and  thus  giving  him  an  opportunity  to 
enter  into  conversation  without  the  intervention  of  an  interpreter. 

At  the  dessert,  in  which  we  were  feasted  with  the  delicious 
fruits  of  the  tropics,  fresh  brought  from  the  neighboring  island  of 
Cuba,  the  reverend  padre  left  the  table  to  attend,  I  presumed,  to 
some  clerical  duty  ;  and  presently,  after  the  servants  were  dis- 
charged, and  we  were  left  a  little  party  of  four  persons,  who 
were  enjoying  ourselves  very  agreeably  in  conversation,  when  a 


290  ADVENTUEES    OF 

messenger  came  running  post  haste  from  the  fort,  with  an  account 
that  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  for  some  reasons  best  known  to  them- 
selves— suspicious,  perhaps,  from  the  long  absence  of  their  captain, 
that  some  foul  play  was  intended  them — had  burst  into  a  mutiny, 
which  it  was  feared  would  terminate  in  bloodshed.  Upon  this, 
the  Intendant  got  up  in  haste,  with  Captain  Dicky,  whom  he  in- 
vited to  go  with  him  and  appease  the  tumult,  committing  me, 
who,  he  said,  might  remain  to  entertain  his  daughter,  to  her  sole 
charge  and  keeping. 

The  moment  the  two  had  left  the  room,  Isabel,  starting  up,  and 
advancing  a  step  or  two  towards  me,  exclaimed  in  low  and  hur- 
ried, but  earnest  tones,  and  in  English,  "  Senor  !  lay  no  miscon- 
struction upon  what  I  have  said  and  done.  If  I  have  deceived 
my  father — if  I  have  descended  to  evasion,  and  almost  to  false- 
hood— know  that  I  was  paying  a  debt  of  gratitude,  which  makes  me 
forget  things  my  father  could  not  have  judged  but  with  harshness. 
I  lament  that  one  so  young,  so  warmly  befriended,  so  seemingly  full 
of  promise,  should  have  fallen  into  evil  hands  and  practices  ;  but 
fear  not  exposure  from  me,  who  neither  can  nor  will  betray  you." 

I  was  confounded  by  the  words  and  manner  of  the  beautiful 
girl,  who  it  was  apparent,  thought  me  a  rogue  in  earnest.  A  mo- 
ment before,  I  fancied  I  required  nothing  but  an  opportunity  to 
speak  to  her  in  private  to  retrieve  my  character  in  her  eyes  and 
convince  her  I  was  no  robber.  But  on  a  sudden  I  felt  it  might  be 
no  such  easy  matter. 

"Alas!"  I  cried,  in  extremity,  "have  you  seen  Dr.  Howard — 
was  he  at  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house — and  can  you  still  think  me  a 
burglar  ?  Did  he  think  me  one  ?" 

"  What  otherwise  could  he  think  "  replied  Isabel  firmly  ;  "  what 
ought  he  to  have  thought  after  what  had  preceded?  After  a 

beginning  in  murder Ah  !  you  perceive,  he  told  us  all  ! 

And,  though  he  softened  the  circumstances,  and  the  poor  man  did 
not  actually  die " 

"  M'Goggin  did  not  die  ?  Thank  Heaven  for  that  !"  cried  I ; 
"  for  that  was  the  only  thing  which  to  myself  seemed  like  crime. 
And  yet  that  was  no  murder,  had  the  wretch  died  twenty  times 
over  ;  and,  if  you  know  the  circumstances  of  that  unfortunate 
affair,  you  must  be  aware  it  was  a  mere  silly  schoolboy  scheme  of 
vengeance,  in  which  a  serious  injury  to  the  pedagogue  was  neither 
desired  nor  intended." 


ROBIN   DAY.  291 

"  But,"  said  Isabel,  "  there  was  still  more  they  spoke  of  ;  that 
— but  it  seemed  to  me,  even  then,  too  extraordinary  for  belief — 
there  were  people  who  charged  you  and  your  companion  with  a 
highway  robbery  upon  a  poor  sailor,  on  the  road  to  Philadel- 
phia !" 

"  Oh,  the  confounded  wagoners  !  it  all  arose  from  them,  I  have 
no  doubt."  And  with  that,  I  told  the  whole  story  to  the  young 
lady,  who,  listening  at  first  with  eager  interest,  at  last,  when  I 
came  to  describe  the  audacious  trick  of  Brown,  by  which,  the  in- 
conveniences of  the  crime  were  transferred  from  the  robber  to  the 
robbeb,  suddenly  burst  into  a  most  unromantic  fit  of  laughter. 

"  And  this  impudent  sailor,  then,"  she  cried,  "  was  the  same  man 
— the  fellow  with  the  horrid  name,  from  whom  you — but  gratitude 
makes  me  too  readily  take  sides  with  you  !  How,  seiior,"  she 
demanded  more  seriously — "  how  comes  it  that  you  are  the  next 
moment  found  in  company  with  this  man,  whom  you  already 
knew  to  be  a  rubber,  in  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house — or,  indeed  any 
where  ?" 

Upon  this  I  told  her  how,  having  changed  his  clothes  and  re- 
moved his  hideous  beard,  he  had  made  me  believe  he  was  Mr. 
Bloodmoney  himself,  robbed  me  of  my  letter  of  introduction  and 
money,  carried  me  into  Mr.  Bloodmoney's  house  ;  in  short,  I  told 
her  the  whole  of  that  unlucky  adventure,  which  moved  her  to  as 
much  risibility  as  before,  though  she  soon  reproved  her  mirth 
by  the  expression,  "  Alas  senor  !  it  is  not  well  to  laugh  at  an 
adventure  which,  however  ridiculous,  was  the  cause,  and  perhaps 
is  yet,  of  pain  to  your  friends,  and  of  injury  to  your  good  name. 
And  it  is  still  less  proper  for  me  to  laugh,"  she  added,  "since 
it  brought  me  relief  at  a  moment  of  need  and  terror." 

I  told  her,  with  much  fervor,  I  cared  not  how  much  she 
laughed  at  my  folly,  provided  she  was  satisfied  of  my  innocence. 
Upon  which  she  said  my  story  was  too  ridiculous  not  to  be  true  ; 
that  it  explained  all  the  circumstances  of  my  case  very  perfectly, 
and  that  she  believed  it.  "  And,  indeed,"  said  she,  with  charming 
frankness,  "  I  always  thought  there  must  be  some  delusion  in  the 
matter,  and  that  you  could  not  be  a  robber  in  reality,  because 
you  did  not  look  like  one,  and  because,  you  know,  you  told  me  so." 


292  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    LII. 

Itobin  Day   is   surprised   by   the   appearance  of  Skipper  DucJc 
and  other  old  friends. 

I  THOUGHT  at  that  moment  I  had  never  seen  so -celestial  a 
creature,  and  felt  prompted  to  say  I  know  not  what  silly  things, 
and  perhaps  should  have  said  them,  had  not  the  maiden  requested 
me,  with  an  enchanting  smile,  to  inform  her  what  other  extraordi- 
nary adventures  ("  for  truly,"  said  she,  "  you  seem  to  have  been 
born  for  extraordinary  adventures  ")  had  followed  my  flight  from 
Mr.  Bloodmoney's. 

I  took  up  the  tale  accordingly,  and  had  proceeded  as  far  as  my 
unlucky  mistake  with  the  British  sailors,  and  the  discovery  of  it, 
while  marching  into  battle  with  them  against  my  own  countrymen, 
an  incident  which  recalled  the  mirth  of  the  beautiful  hearer, 
when  Colonel  Aubrey  suddenly  returned,  and  being  surprised  at 
his  daughter's  merriment,  requested  to  know  the  cause  of  it. 
"  Oh,"  quoth  she,  "  the  Senor  Day  has  been  entertaining  me  with 
the  history  of  his  surprising  adventures,  which  I  hope,  some 
time  "  (and  here  I  thought  she  gave  me  a  significant  look,  besides 
emphasizing  the  word  some  time)  "  he  will  also  relate  to  my  dear 
father." 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  all  that  the  Sefior  Day  may  think 
proper  to  relate,"  said  the  Intendant  ;  "  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  I 
must  beg  of  him  the  favor  to  attend  me  to  the  audience  chamber, 

where "  Here  Isabel  looked  pale,  and  I,  thinking  the  summons 

must  have  some  reference  to  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  interrupted 
him  by  hoping  that  nothing  unpleasant  had  resulted  from  their 
quarrelsome  outbreak. 

"Nothing  at  all,"  said  he  :  "they  had,  somehow,  got  into  their 
heads  a  ridiculous  idea  that  they  were  to  be  sent  off  to  South 
America,  to  be  condemned  to  the  mines.  But  all  is  now  quiet ; 
and  Captain  Dare,  who  chooses  to  remain  with  them  awhile,  will 
presently  return  to  favor  us  with  his  agreeable  society."  He 


KOBIN   DAY.  293 

added,  that  the  business  at  which  he  begged  my  assistance,  was 
the  examination  of  several  men,  the  crew  of  a  small  vessel,  which 
had  that  day  entered  the  port  under  suspicious  circumstances,  but 
who  claimed  to  be  good  and  honest  American  citizens  ;  in  which 
case  it  would,  doubtless,  be  advantageous,  as  well  as  agreeable,  to 
them  to  have  a  gentleman,  their  own  countryman,  present  as  an 
interpreter.  The  suspicious  circumstances  were  chiefly  the  want 
of  sufficient  papers,  and  of  cargo  ;  the  disproportion  between  the 
crew  and  vessel,  the  latter  being  a  mere  coasting  shallop,  while 
the  former  comprised  eighteen  or  twenty  men,  of  whom  nearly 
two-thirds  were  negroes  ;  and,  and  what  was  more  suspicious  still, 
a  great  piraticul  looking  long-torn,  stowed  away  with  a  quantity 
of  small  arms  and  ammunition,  in  her  hold.  In  short,  Colonel 
Aubrey  suspected  the  vessel  to  be  a  pirate,  a  stray  member  per- 
haps of  the  fraternity  then  known  to  exist  under  Lafitte  at  Bar- 
rataria  Bay  ;  though  the  master,  or  chief  man  among  them,  insisted 
he  was  an  honest  negro-trader  from  the  Carolinas,  come  to  try  his 
luck,  with  a  small  cargo  of  slaves,  among  the  Spaniards  of  the 
Gulf. 

Having  given  me  this  explanation,  the  Intendent  led  me,  all 
loath  to  leave  the  charming  Isabel,  into  the  audience  chamber  ; 
where  among  a  number  of  soldiers,  who  kept  guard  over  them, 
were  six  or  seven  men  in  sailor's  clothes,  whose  appearance  startled 
me  a  little  out  of  my  propriety  ;  because  some  of  them  I  immedi- 
ateley  recognized  as  my  quondam  friends  of  the  Jumping  Jenny, 
the  followers  of  honest  Tom  Gunner  ;  and  another  look  showed 
me,  standing  foremost  among  them,  and  looking  excessively  dog- 
ged, yet  discomposed,  the  detestable  Skipper  Duck  ;  whom,  of 
all  the  men  in  the  world,  I  least  expected  to  stumble  upon  in  this 
remote  quarter.  When  I  first  caught  sight  of  the  fellow,  he  was 
stealing  a  glance  at  the  Intendent  that  expressed  perhaps  more 
than  a  rogue's  usual  fear  of  the  face  of  Justice  ;  but  when,  rolling 
his  eyes  askant  from  Colonel  Aubrey,  they  fell  upon  me,  I  was 
myself  astonished  at  the  actual  dismay  into  which  his  uneasiness 
was  immediately  converted. 

"  What !"  cried  Colonel  Aubrey,  "  you  seem  to  know  the  fel- 
low ?" 

Before  I  could  reply,  one  of  the  sailors,  having  caught  sight  of 
ine,  exclaimed,  pointing  me  out  to  his  messmates,  "  I'm  blasted  if 
that  aint  our  little  fighting-cock,  Day,  that  was  with  us  in  the 


294  ADVENTURES    OF 

Chesapeake,  and  was  snatched  up  by  the  blasted  Yankees  at  Nor- 
folk !" 

These  words  covered  me  with  confusion  ;  for  I  knew  not^  in  the 
moment,  what  unlucky  construction  the  Intendent  might  put  upon 
this  portion  of  my  history,  unless  told  him  in  my  own  version  ; 
and  the  embarrassment  was  increased  by  his  suddenly  giving  me  a 
sharp  look,  and  saying  "  he  thought  it  proper  to  inform  me,  that, 
although  long  years  of  disuse  had  made  it  a  very  painful  and  dis- 
agreeable task  to  him  to  speak  English,  it  was  nevertheless  his 
mother  tongue,  and  he  retained  sufficient  knowledge  of  it  to  un- 
derstand every  word  that  was  spoken."  Yet  I  recovered  my 
courage  in  a  moment,  upon  reflecting  that  neither  Skipper  Duck 
nor  any  of  his  men  could  accuse  me  of  murder,  or  highway  rob- 
bery, or  burglary  ;  and  immediately  replied — "  Senor,  I  have  no 
objection  you  should  understand  anything,  or  all,  that  these  men 
may  say  to  me,  or  I  to  them.  In  truth,  I  do  know  them  ;  this 
fellow,"  pointing  to  Skipper  Duck,  who  still  looked  frightened 
out  of  his  wits — "  in  particular,  who  is  as  foul  a  knave  as  the  sun 
ever  shone  on.  The  others  are,  or  were,  British  sailors,  with 
whom,  and  with  others,  their  comrades,  it  was  my  misfortune  to 
be  compelled  to  bear  arms — or  rather  to  appear  to  bear  arms, 
against  my  own  countrymen  on  the  Chesapeake  ;  an  adventure 
which  I  was  but  this  moment  engaged  relating  to  the  Senorita 
Aubrey." 

"  Ah  !"  cried  the  Intendent  ;  "  you  told  her  ?  And  it  was  that 
she  was  laughing  at  ?"  Upon  my  assenting  to  which,  he  looked 
pleased,  and  smiled,  declared  he  was  impatient  to  hear  my  whole 
8tory,  and  then  requested  I  would  inform  him  more  particularly 
in  regard  to  Duck  and  his  accomplices. 

I  told  him,  that  if  the  vessel  was,  as  I  supposed,  the  Jumping 
Jenny,  Duck  was  her  skipper,  and,  I  believed,  her  owner  ;  that 
she  had  been  captured  by  the  British  in  the  Chesapeake,  manned, 
armed  (whence,  doubtless,  the  long-torn  and  the  ammunition), 
and  employed,  with  other  similar  vessels,  in  their  plundering  ex- 
peditions ;  and  that  Duck  had  served  on  board  as  their  pilot ;  that 
he  had  been,  after  a  time,  taken  prisoner  by  the  Americans,  or 
made  his  escape  to  them  ;  at  all  events,  he  must  have  told  them 
a  good  story,  as  I  had  seen  him,  apparently  at  liberty,  fighting 
with  them  against  his  late  employers,  the  British  ;  and  there  ended 
my  knowledge  of  him  and  the  Jumping  Jenny.  How  he  got 


ROBIN   DAY.  295 

possession  of  her  again,  I  knew  not ;  but  I  suspected  he  must 
have  returned  to  her  voluntarily,  and  then,  with  the  sailors  who 
were  now  with  him,  and  who,  it  could  scarce  be  doubted,  were 
deserters,  had  run  away  with  her,  at  a  convenient  period,  when 
the  rest  of  her  crew,  with  their  officers,  were  ashore  upon  some 
adventure.  As  for  the  negroes,  I  supposed  they  were  slaves  whom 
he  had  stolen  from  their  masters  ;  or  that  they  had  been  picked 
up  along  shore,  with  other  plunder,  by  his  British  associates,  and 
merely  carried  off  by  him,  to  make  his  flight  more  profitable. 

In  this  very  reasonable  explanation,  I,  at  a  future  period,  learned 
I  had  exactly  hit  the  truth  ;  and,  indeed,  upon  examining  them  a 
little,  Colonel  Aubrey  was  satisfied  the  sailors  were  deserters 
from  the  British  navy,  and  Skipper  Duck  a  trader  in  stolen 
goods  ;  for  which  reason,  he  directed  they  should  be  con- 
fined in  the  fort,  to  be  surrendered,  with  the  vessel  and  slaves,  to 
the  first  British  commander  who  should  visit  Pensacola. 

But  before  he  sent  them  away,  I  told  him  the  story  of  little 
Tommy,  the  son,  I  assured  him,  of  my  benefactor,  Dr.  Howard, 
the  kinsman  of  his  friend  Mr.  Bloodmoney  ;  and  I  immediately 
taxed  Duck  to  his  face  with  having  stolen  him.  The  villain  was 
greatly  disconcerted,  and  denied  that  Tommy  was  Dr.  Howard's 
son  ;  but  he  admitted  he  was  still  on  board  the  vessel,  having 
been,  like  the  negroes,  thought  too  insignificant  to  be  brought 
before  the  Intendant ;  and  Colonel  Aubrey,  who  was  much  struck, 
and  even  affected,  by  the  story,  immediately  gave  orders  to  have 
him  brought  to  the  house,  declaring  he  would  find  means  to  have 
him  restored  to  his  father. 


296  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

In  ichich  Robin  Day  meets  another  surprise,  and  a  perilous  one, 
which  is  succeeded  by  a  story  of  much  interest  to  the  Intendent. 

I  NOW  thought  I  might  return  again  to  the  society  of  the  en- 
chanting Isabel  ;  but  Colonel  Aubrey  informed  me  he  must  beg 
my  assistance  in  the  examination  of  yet  another  American  ;  adding, 
with  a  smile,  that  he  fancied  I  would  meet  another  surprise,  and  a 
pleasant  one,  "for,"  said  he,  "some  of  my  troopers  have  just 
brought  in  from  the  woods,  where  they  found  him  lost  and  famished, 
a  poor  man,  who  reports  that  he  has  just  escaped  from  captivity 
and  torture  among  the  Creeks  ;  and,  as  they  say  he  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  old  sailor,  it  would  not  surprise  me  if  he  should 
prove  the  poor  fellow  your  companion  in  flight." 

The  poor  fellow  my  companion  in  flight !  A  pleasant  surprise, 
indeed  !  I  was  horrified  by  the  announcement, for  not  to  say  that  the 
appearance  of  Captain  Brown  had  always  boded  me  some  new  mis- 
fortune, his  entrance  upon  the  present  scene  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  dangerous  to  me.  I  would  gladly  have  dispensed  with 
the  interview,  but  perceived  I  could  not  do  so  without  awakening 
suspicion.  My  hope  was  that  the  stranger  should,  after  all,  prove 
not  to  be  Brown,  but  some  other  person  unknown.  But,  alas,  the 
hope  was  almost  immediately  dispelled  by  the  entrance  of  the 
"  poor  fellow,"  who  proved  to  be  Captain  Jack  Brown  himself, 
though  sorely  altered  by  famine  and  distress.  His  appearance  was 
emaciated  and  squalid,  and  even  his  spirit  seemed  broken  down  by 
suffering  ;  the  look  of  fearless  self-possession  and  audacity  had  de- 
serted his  countenance,  which  now  wore  a  hangdog  expression  of 
suspicion  and  fear,  enough  to  convince  anyone  he  was  a  rogue ; 
and  I  perceived  it  had  but  an  unfavorable  effect  upon  Colonel 
Aubrey.  I  might  myself  have  been  astonished  at  such  a  change  in 
the  man,  who  seemed  scarce  able  to  look  the  Intendent  in  the 
face,  had  I  been  less  occupied  with  my  own  anxieties." 

"Well,"  cried  the  Intendant,   "  is  this  the  man?" 


ROBIN    DAY.  297 

Brown  startled  at  the  words,  and  looking  round  him,  caught 
sight  of  me,  seemed  astonished,  and  then  brightened  up  in  a  won- 
derful manner,  as  if — for  I  thought  I  could  read  what  was  passing 
in  his  mind — satisfied  that  my  presence  would  be  of  advantage  to 
him.  "  Ah  !  shiver  me,  Chowder,  my  hearty  ! "  he  cried,  rushing 
forward  and  seizing  me  very  affectionately  by  the  hand  ;  "  and  so 
you've  cleared  them  blasted  Injun  niggurs  after  all,  have  you  ? 
Tell  him,"  he  added  in  a  whisper,  which  he  sought  to  conceal  from 
the  Intendant,  and  uttered  with  great  haste  and  vehemence — "  tell 
him  my  name's  John  Smith  ;  or  d — n  me,  I'll  murder  you  ! — Glad 
to  see  you  alive  again  ; "  here  he  raised  his  voice,  and  shook  my 
hand  with  terrible  ardor  ;  "  glad  to  see  you  afloat  ;  for,  sink  me, 
I  thought  the  red  rascals  had  sunk  you  to  Davy  Jones  long  ago." 

With  that,  letting  go  his  hold  of  me,  he  now,  as  if  quite  restored 
to  his  courage,  raised  his  eyes  to  the  Intendant's  face,  gave  him  a 
scrape  of  his  foot,  and  hitching  up  his  trowsers,  and  otherwise 
putting  on  the  airs  of  a  bluff  old  sailor,  quite  ignorant  of  the  forms 
and  ceremonies  of  the  world,  he  exclaimed,  "  Split  my  topsails  ! 
{  axing  your  honor  and  excellency's  pardon)  if  so  be  there's  no 
offense,  I'm  am  American  sailor,  sink  me  ;  and  so  I  axes  to  know 
what  your  honor  and  excellency  means  by  making  a  prisoner  of 
me  ?  because  how  I  sails  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  I  knows 
my  rights,  and  split  me,  I  sticks  to  'em.  But  perhaps  your  honor 
and  excellency  don't  understand  my  lingo  ?  which  is  a  thing 
whereof  I  am  sorry,  because  as  how  I  don't  know  no  Spanish." 

His  honor  and  excellency  surveyed  the  speaker  very  earnestly, 
smiled  faintly  at  his  eloquence,  passed  his  hand  thoughtfully  across 
his  brow,  and  then  surveyed  him  again,  when,  finally,  turning  to 
me,  he  demanded  with  adruptness,  "  Have  you  known  this  man 
long?" 

"  Not  long,  Seiior,"  I  replied,  not  disposed  to  speak  too  much  to 
the  point ;  "  but  he  is  the  fellow-prisoner  I  spoke  of." 

"  To  my  mind,  he  has  an  evil  look,"  said  the  Intendent ;  "  and 
methinks  I  have  seen  him  before.  Do  you  know  enough  of  him  to 
answer  for  his  honesty  ?  " 

Alas  !  what  a  question  !  I  knew  perfectly  well  that  Brown  was 
a  villain  deserving  the  halter  ;  but  the  services  he  had  rendered  me 
among  the  Creeks,  and  especially  his  manful  attempt  to  snatch  me 
from  the  stake,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  dwelt  upon  my 
memory,  and  I  was  loath  to  say  anything  to  his  prejudice.  But 


298  ADVENTURES    OF 

to  assume  the  responsibility  of  giving  him  a  good  name  was  entirely 
too  much  for  my  gratitude. 

"  I  should  be  sorry,  senor,"  I  replied,  "  to  be  answerable  for  the 
honesty  of  any  person,  upon  so  short  an  acquaintance."  The  an- 
swer stuck  in  my  throat,  for  I  felt  that,  however  evasive,  it  in- 
volved a  substantial  falsehood. 

"  His  name,"  demanded  Colonel  Aubrey. 

"Really,"  said  I,  "I  am  not  certain  I  know  even  that.  He 
told  me  once  it  was  Smith  ;  but  " — here  Brown  gave  me  a  direful 
look  of  warning  and  menace,  which  I  disregarded,  for  I  found 
that  one  falsehood  in  his  favor  was  all  my  conscience  would  per- 
mit— "  at  other  times,  I  understood  it  was  Brown." 

"  Brown  !"  ejaculated  the  Intendent,  starting  wildly  from  the 
chair  on  which  he  had  taken  his  seat,  and  advancing  towards 
Brown,  who  immediately  putting  a  good  face  on  the  matter,  ex- 
claimed— 

"  Ay,  your  honor,  there's  no  gainsaying  it ;  that's  a  name  I 
sometimes  sails  under,  and,  mayhap,  have  the  best  right  to,  because 
why,  it  belongs  to  the  family." 

"  Brown  !"  again  cried  Colonel  Aubrey,  surveying  him  with  the 
utmost  agitation.  "  Can  it  be  !  Is  it  possible  ?  I  knew  the  face. 
And  yet — and  yet  " — and  here  the  disorder  of  his  spirits  rendered 
his  expressions  for  a  moment  inarticulate  ;  and  he  sat  down  again 
upon  the  chair,  from  which,  however,  he  immediately  afterwards 
sprang  up,  exclaiming,  "  Fellow,  if  you  be  he  indeed,  you  must 
know  me.  Look  !  My  name  is  Aubrey  !  Seventeen  years  have 
not  yet  changed  me  so  far  that  you  can  say  you  do  not  remember 
me?" 

"Never  saw  your  honor's  excellency  before  in  all  my  life," 
said  Brown,  with  great  apparent  sincerity. 

"If  you  have  lost  all  memory  of  me,"  said  the  Intendent,  seiz- 
ing Brown  by  the  arm,  and  pointing  to  the  portrait  of  which  I 
have  before  spoken,  hanging  upon  the  wall — "  If  you  have  lost  all 
memory  of  me,  him,  at  least,  you  cannot  have  forgotten  !" 
'  I  had  been  greatly  struck  by  this  singular  turn  of  affairs,  and 
was  burning  with  curiosity  to  know  what  fate  could  have  ever 
connected  the  affairs  of  the  Intendant  with  such  a  rogue  as  Brown. 
And,  it  may  be  supposed,  I  looked  on  with  a  double  interest  when 
the  portrait  was  referred  to — that  very  picture,  or  its  duplicate, 
which,  when  I  had  pointed  Brown's  attention  to  it,  in  Mr.  Blood- 


ROBIN    DAY.  299 

money's  house,  had  discomposed  him  not  a  little,  and  drawn  from 
him  the  explanation  that  it  was  "  an  old  friend  of  his  who  had 
gone  to  Davy  Jones  long  before."  It  produced  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar effect  upon  him  on  the  present  occasion  ;  and  he  muttered, 

"Ay!  I  knows  him!  It  looks  just  like  him,  when "  But  he 

interrupted  himself.  "  I  knows  him,"  he  repeated  ;  "  poor  gen- 
tleman. His  name  was  Mowbray " 

"  Aubrey  !  Aubrey  !"  cried  the  Intendent,  with  a  smothered 
voice. 

"  Well,  it  may  be,"  said  Brown,  "  but  I  always  thought  it  was 
Mowbray  ;  and  sure,  his  own  brother  the  sodger,  told  us  so — the 
skipper  and  me — when  he  bought  us  over  to  the  sarvice.  It  was 
Aubrey,  or  Mowbray  ;  and  poor  gentleman,  the  hellcats  (whereof 
I  mean,  the  d — d  Spanish  constables)  were  after  him,  because 
how  he  was  a  traitor,  or  conspirator,  or  whatsoever  you  call  it  ; 
and  so  we  sent  the  boat,  and  took  him  off  by  night,  him  and  the 
rest  of  them  and  a  whole  chest-full  of  money,  and  off  went  the 
Sally  Ann  a  bragging  through  blue  water.  Off  she  went  and, 
split  me,  the  blue  water  soon  had  the  best  of  her  ;  she  foundered, 
please  your  honor's  excellency  ;  and  the  skipper  and  the  passengers, 
with  our  Mr.  Aubrey,  if  so  be  that's  his  name,  went  down  with 
her  to  the  bottom." 

"My  miserable  brother  !"  cried  the  Intendent,  covering  his 
face  with  his  hands,  and  sinking  into  a  chair.  But  starting  up 
again,  he  demanded,  "  But  how  is  this  ?  You  were  saved — others 
were  saved " 

"None  but  me  and  Tim  Duck,"  said  Brown,  at  which  name 
'Colonel  Aubrey  eagerly  demanded,  turning  to  me  :  "  What  ! 
was  not  that  the  name  of  the  fellow,  the  captain  of  the  sloop,  just 
•before  us  ?" 

This  question,  which  I  answered  in  the  affirmative,  not  without 
:alarm  lest  Duck  should  be  sent  for  and  immediately  impeach  my 
lionest  acquaintance,  had  the  effect  of  disturbing  the  latter  like- 
wise ;  so  that,  forgetting  his  former  assurance  that  he  knew  no 
Spanish,  he  hastened  to  exclaim,  "  There's  more  Ducks  than  swim 
on  salt  water  ;  but  this  here  fellow  can't  be  Tim  Duck,  because 
.how,  Davy  Jones  has  got  him."  Fortunately  for  Brown,  the 
Intendent  was  too  much  excited  to  notice  the  inconsistency  ;  and 
Brown,  to  secure  his  attention  to  less  dangerous  subjects,  immedi- 
ately resumed  his  story. 


800  ADVENTURES    OP 

"  None  but  me  and  Tim  Duck,"  said  he,  "  stood  it  out  ;  because 
how,  d'ye  see,  we  took  to  the  boat — the  three  men  and  me,  which 
was  the  mate,  and  was  to  be  skipper  next  voyage,  and  the  niggur 
boy,  which  jumped  after  us  ;  and  that  was  all  of  us  when  we 
pushed  off " 

"  What  then  !"  cried  Colonel  Aubrey,  "  my  poor  brother  was 
abandoned,  without  an  effort  to  save  him  ?" 

"  Why,  d'ye  see,"  quoth  Brown,  "he  would  run  below  after  the 
younker  ;  and  just  then  the  schooner  took  a  lurch,  and  so  we 
pushed  off,  and  down  she  went  with  him,  and  the  skipper  too,  forr 
blast  me,  he  was  lying  sick  in  his  bunk,  unable  to  help  himself. 
And  so  we  pushed  off  in  the  boat,  without  bread,  water,  or  com- 
pass, and  pitched  about  fourteen  days  on  a  stretch  ;  and  two  of 
the  men,  they  died  ;  and  says  I  to  Tim  Duck,  says  I,  'Tim  Duck, 
we  must  draw  lots  ;'  and  says  he  to  me,  *  Let's  do  for  the  niggur  ;' 
and  so  he  killed  the  blackey,  and  we  lived  on  him  six  days  ;  and 
then  came  the  ship,  the  Good  Hope,  of  Boston,  and  picked  us  up, 
and  there,  shiver  my  timbers,  your  honor  and  excellency,  there's 
the  end  of  the  story." 

"  It  is  not  yet  the  end  of  it,"  said  Colonel  Aubrey,  with  a  stern 
voice.  "It  is  now  seventeen  years  since  that  vessel  sailed  out  of 
her  port,  never  more  to  enter  another,  and  up  to  this  moment  not 
a  word  of  her  fate  was  ever  breathed  to  human  being  ;  and  no  one 
but  believed  she  had  foundered  at  sea,  and  that  every  soul  on 
board  had  perished  with  her.  How  comes  it  that  neither  you  nor 
the  fellow  Duck,  the  survivors  of  the  wreck,  ever  gave  informa- 
tion of  the  calamity  to  any  one — to  owners  or  underwriters  ?  How 
could  this  have  happened,  if  your  story  be  true  ?  And,  by  Heaven, 
your  silence  throws  a  suspicious  character  over  what  was  before 
only  deemed  a  natural  accident  of  the  sea.  Speak,  fellow  ;  though 
you  pretend  to  have  forgotten  me,  I  remember  you  well,  and  I 
remember,  too,  there  were  persons  who  said  the  mate  of  the  Sally 
Ann  had  not  always  been  in  so  honest  a  vessel,  and  was  not  the 
safest  man  to  entrust  with  either  a  rich  cargo  or  the  life  of  a 
wealthy  passenger  !" 

"They  lied  then,  d — n  their  blood,"  cried  Brown,  with  great 
emphasis  ;  "  for  the  mate  of  the  Sally  Ann  was  as  honest  a  lad,  at 
her  sailing,  as  ever  rose  from  the  forecastle  to  the  quarter-deck,  and 
if  you're  the  gentleman,  poor  Mr.  Mowbray's  brother,  whereof  I  dis- 
remember,  who  made  the  bargain  with  the  skipper  and  me,  and 


ROBIN    DAY.  301 

brought  him  and  the  younker,  and  the  young  nigger,  and  the 
money,  aboard,  you  must  know  the  old  skipper  said  I  was  to  have 
the  schooner  next  voyage,  blast  her,  because  how  he  was  the 
owner,  and  he  was  old,  and  he  knew  I  was  a  man  to  be  depended 
on.  And  as  for  this  here  thing  that  surprises  you,"  he  added 
very  bluffly,  "  because  as  how  your  honor  never  heard  tell  of  the 
sinking  of  the  schooner  till  now,  why,  sink  me,  that's  a  matter 
soon  settled.  For,  d'ye  see,  the  ship  that  picked  up  me  and  Tim 
Duck  was  the  Good  Hope  of  Boston  ;  and  she  was  an  Injieman 
on  her  outward  voyage  ;  and  so  says  Captain  Jones,  her  com- 
mander, to  us,  says  he,  t  I'll  send  you  back  to  the  States  by  the 
first  return  ship  we  meets,  or  I'll  drop  you  at  the  Cape  ;'  but  hang 
me,  there  was  no  return  ship  we  sees  ;  and  when  we  comes  to  the 
Cape,  there  was  nothing  there  ;  and  the  Good  Hope  was  short  of 
hands,  because  she  lost  four  men  overboard  in  a  squall  ;  and  says 
Captain  Jones  to  us,  says  he,  "  If  you'll  enter  for  the  voyage,  my 
boys,  you  shall  be  well  treated,  and  have  pay  from  the  time  of 
picking  up  into  the  bargain.'  And  so  we  entered  for  the  voyage, 
me  and  Tim  Duck  ;  but  it  was  a  blasted  unlucky  voyage  for  all 
of  us,  for  the  ship  she  was  caught  in  a  Typhoon,  and  wrecked  on 
the  east  coast  of  Sumatra ;  and  the  Malays  fell  on  us,  curse  'em  ; 
and  them  that  wasn't  drowned  they  killed,  and  them  they  didn't 
kill  they  captivated,  whereof  I,  John  Brown,  was  one  ;  but  Tim 
Duck  they  killed.  And  I  was  a  slave  among  'em  twelve  years, 
and  they  treated  me  like  a  nigger  ;  and  a  Dutch  captain  that  was 
there  after  pepper,  he  bought  me  for  a  barrel  of  rum  and  two  old 
muskets  ;  but  he  said  it  was  six  hundred  dollars ;  and  so,  when  we 
comes  to  Batavia,  a  Dutch  judge  there  says  I  must  sarve  the 
Dutch  captain  four  years  for  the  money,  and  I  sarved  him.  And 
when  my  time  was  out,  I  ships  in  the  Dutch  ship  called  the  Polly 
Frow  for  Amsterdam,  and  there  I  ships  in  an  American  brig 
called  the  George  Washington,  which  fetches  me  right  straight  to 
Boston,  where  I  landed  on  the  seventh  day  of  May,  in  this  here 
year  of  Our  Lord,  after  an  absence  of  seventeen  years,  or  there- 
abouts. And  then  I  tells  my  story,  and  they  logged  it  right  away 
in  the  newspapers,  with  the  whole  account  of  the  sinking  of  the 
Sally  Ann,  whereof  nobody  cared,  because  how  the  captain  he 
was  the  owner,  and  not  insured,  and  his  wife  was  married  to 
another  man.  And,"  quoth  Brown,  to  whose  relation  I  listened  with 
mingled  wonder  and  distrust,  having  strong  reasons,  of  my  own 


302  ADVENTURES    OP 

to  believe  it  was  a  tissue  of  falsehoods  from  beginning  to  end — 
"  if  you  axes  to  know  how  a  sailor  like  me  comes  into  the  hands 
of  them  cursed  Injuns,  why  here's  the  case,  blast  me:  for  my 
friends  they  makes  me  up  a  purse  in  Boston,  because  of  my  mis- 
fortunes, and  so  I  starts  off  to  try  my  luck  a  peddlering,  because, 
d'ye  see,  I've  had  enough  of  the  sea,  sink  me,  and  don't  want  to 
see  no  more  of  it.  And  so  I  turns  my  back  to  it,  and  that  fetched 
me  among  the  Injuns,  and  they  snapped  me  up,  pack  and  all ;  and 
they  fatted  me  up  to  make  a  feast  of  me,  whereof  this  young 
gentleman "  (meaning  me)  "  will  bear  witness,  because  he  was 
tied  up  with  me.  And  we  broke  loose,  and  sailed  off  in  a  canoe, 
and  she  was  wrecked  on  a  log  ;  and  we  swum  for  it,  him  one  way, 
and  me  another,  and  so  we  parted  company,  and  I  navigated  the 
woods  alone ;  and  I'll  be  hang'd,  but  I  found  it  a  crooked  and 
dangerous  navigation." 


BOBIN    DAY.  303 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

A  denouement  and  catastrophe,  and  Robin  Day  loses  the  favor 
of  the  Intendent,  and  is  packed  off  to  a  fort  for  safe-keeping. 

AND  so  ended  the  story,  which — told  with  an  appearance  of  great 
simplicity  and  truth — seemed,  notwithstanding  my  disbelief  of  it, 
to  carry  conviction  to  the  mind  of  Colonel  Aubrey,  and  to  remove 
all  the  suspicions  he  had  begun  to  entertain  in  relation  to  the  real 
fate  of  his  unfortunate  brother.  He  returned  immediately  to  the 
subject  of  the  wreck,  and  asked  a  multitude  of  questions,  to  all 
which  Brown  replied  with  so  much  readiness  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble not  to  believe  that,  upon  this  point  of  his  history,  he  was  ut- 
tering at  least  some  truth. 

To  the  Intendent  all  his  answers  seemed  as  natural  as  they  were 
affecting  ;  and  having  concluded  his  melancholy  inquisition,  he 
turned  to  a  servant  who  was  near  him,  and  bade  him  go  fetch  the 
Senorita  Isabel,  "  that  she  might  see  with  her  own  eyes  the  man 
who  —  But  what  else  he  said  I  heard  not,  being  so  horrified 
at  the  idea  of  the  young  lady  being  brought  into  the  room  while 
Brown  was  in  it  that  all  my  senses  deserted  me,  and  I  stood  such 
a  picture  of  consternation  that  Colonel  Aubrey,  starting  from  the 
gloom  into  which  he  had  fallen,  asked  "  what  ailed  me,  and  if  I 
were  sick  ?"  Before  I  could  stammer  out  a  reply — and,  in  truth, 
I  know  not  what  I  intended  to  reply — the  anticipated  catastrophe 
had  arrived  ;  the  young  Isabel  had  entered  the  room,  and  cast  her 
eyes  upon  Captain,  Brown  who,  astonished  out  of  his  prudence, 
ripped  out  a  hasty  oath,  with  an  equally  profane  addition.  "  D — n 
my  blood  !"  he  cried,  "  we  goes  to  h — 11  now  in  a  hurricane  !" 
As  for  Isabel,  whose  recollections  were  perhaps  stimulated  by 
Brown's  voice,  she  immediately  uttered  a  shriek,  and  threw  her- 
self into  the  Intendent's  arms,  crying,  "  El  Gato  !  M  Gato! — It 
is  the  villain  himself  !" 

Great  was  the  confusion  produced  by  this  turn  of  events,  so 
unexpected  by  all  but  unhappy  me.  Even  Colonel  Aubrey  looked 


304  ADVENTURES     OP 

petrified  for  a  moment,  though,  the  next,  he  ordered  the  soldiers, 
who  had  brought  Brown  in,  to  secure  him,  which  they  did,  Brown 
submitting  with  a  very  good  grace,  but  all  the  while  protesting 
he  was  "  no  more  El  Gato,  as  they  called  him,  than  he  was  Davy 
Jones  himself." 

"  We  shall  inquire  into  that,  as  well  as  other  things,"  quoth  the 
Intendent,  turning  from  Brown  to  me,  whom  he  regarded  with  a 
stern  countenance. 

"  So  !  young  man  !"  he  cried  ;  "  you  concealed  from  me  your 
knowledge  of  this  man,  of  his  acts  and  character  !  pretended  not 
to  know  in  him  the  ruffian  from  whom  you  had  rescued  my  daugh- 
ter !" 

"  Alas,  sir,"  I  cried,  "  if  you  will  allow  me  to  explain." 

"  We  will  allow  you  an  opportunity  to  do  so  at  another  mo- 
ment. At  present " 

But  he  was  interrupted  by  Isabel,  who,  starting  from  her  ter- 
rors, caught  him  by  the  hand,  exclaiming  eagerly,  "  Oh,  my  dear 
father,  the  young  gentleman  is  innocent.  If  I  had  only  told  you 
all  at  first!" 

"  Hah  !"  cried  the  Intendent,  bending  a  scowling  eye  even  upon 
her — have  you,  too,  united  with  him  to  deceive  me  ?" 

The  fair  Isabel  stammered  out  an  excuse — "  she  could  explain 
all — she  always  meant  to  explain  all."  The  Intendent  arrested  her 
further  speech  by  a  look  full  of  the  most  penetrating  inquiry, 
which  he  immediately  after  extended  to  me.  Then,  waving  Isabel 
imperiously  to  silence,  he  directed  the  soldiers  to  carry  Brown  to 
the  fort  and  guard  him  well.  "  And  you,  senor,"  he  added,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  me,"  will  do  me  the  favor  to  accompany  them, 
and  lodge  to-night  with  your  companions." 

"  Appearances,  as  well  as  your  suspicions,  are  against  me,  senor," 
I  said,  gathering  hope  from  the  assurance  that  I  left  a  friend 
behind  me  in  the  beautiful  Isabel  ;  "  but  I  trust  yet  to  convince 
you  I  am  only  the  most  unlucky  person  in  the  world,  and  noihing 
worse." 

And  with  these  words,  and  a  stolen  glance  at  Isabel,  who  looked 
the  picture  of  grief  and  humiliation,  I  stole — or  sneaked,  which  is 
perhaps  the  proper  word — out  of  the  room  and  house,  in  which,  a 
few  moments  before,  I  had  felt  so  proud  and  romantic,  and  fol- 
lowed, with  Brown  (who,  instead  of  expressing  compunction  for 
being  the  cause  of  my  present,  as  of  nearly  every  other,  misfortune, 


BOBIN   DAY.  305 

indulged  sundry  hearty  execrations  upon  what  he  called  my  dis- 
obedience of  orders  in  not  passing  him  off  for  Mr.  John  Smith 
only),  to  the  fortress,  which  I  justly  regarded  as  a  prison.  At  its 
gates  I  met  my  friend  and  commander,  Captain  Dicky,  returning 
to  the  mansion  whence  I  had  been  so  ignominiously  banished,  and 
informing  him  in  a  few  words  of  my  mishap,  I  authorized,  and,, 
indeed,  begged  him,  since  no  other  course  now  remained  to  me,  to  ac- 
quaint Colonel  Aubrey  with  the  whole  history  of  my  connection 
with  Captain  Brown,  to  convince  him  I  was  not  in  reality  the  ac- 
complice, but  the  victim  of  that  worthy  personage.  I  had  no- 
idea,  at  the  moment,  that  he  could  have  any  other  reason  for  his 
severity  than  the  suspicion  of  my  being  a  knave  and  the  confederate 
of  Brown.  Had  I  been  a  little  older  and  wiser,  I  might  have  seen 
an  additional  cause  in  an  equally  natural  and  more  painful  ap- 
prehension, awakened  by  the  good  understanding  that  seemed  to- 
exist  between  the  fair  Isabel  and  myself. 

It  was  nearly  night  when  I  entered  the  fort,  where  the  appearance 
fo  Captain  Brown  excited  a  good  deal  of  curiosity  among  the  Span- 
iards of  the  garrison,  who  crowded  around  to  view  a  rouge  bearing  a 
name  so  formidable  and  renowned  as  El  Gato  ;  but  I  thought  they 
expressed  greater  admiration  than  horror  at  the  sight  of  him.  Nor 
were  there  any  greater  pains  taken  to  secure  him  from  flight  or 
mischief  than  to  clap  a  pair  of  light  manacles  upon  his  wrists,, 
after  which  he  was  suffered  to  ramble  up  and  down  the  fort,  con- 
versing with  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  ( which  was  not  a  numer- 
ous or  particularly  well  disciplined  one),  and  with  the  prisoners — 
Skipper  Duck  and  his  comrades,  who  were  not  fettered  at  all,  and 
a  number  of  convicts — degraded  soldiers — who  idled  about,  each 
with  a  cannon  ball  chained  to  his  leg. 

My  first  care,  upon  entering  the  fort,  was  to  look  for  little 
Tommy  ;  but  the  Govenor  had  sent  for  him,  and  he  was  already 
gone.  I  then  sought  out  and  found  my  companions  in  arms,  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  who  sat  retired,  like  Milton's  philosopher 
devils,  not  yet  entirely  cured  of  their  suspicions  and  fears  of 
Spanish  faith  and  South  American  gold  mines.  I  did  all  I  could 
to  convince  them  their  apprehensions  were  groundless,  and  that  they 
would,  in  all  probability,  be,in  a  day  or  two,  released  and  furnished 
with  guides  to  conduct  them  to  Mobile,  but,  by  and  by,  growing 
weary  of  arguing  with  men  who  had  made  their  minds  up  to  their 
own  opinions,  and  tiring  the  sooner,  perhaps,  that  I  was  in  a  very; 


306  ADVENTURES    OF 

melancholy  and  contemplative  mood,  I  walked  away  from  them  to 
a  corner,  where  I  could  sit  by  myself,  and  build  castles  in  the 
moon,  which  was  rising  over  the  bay,  and  changing  a  leaden 
twilight  into  a  night  of  silver. 

My  meditations  were  soon  broken  in  upon  by  Brown,  who 
opened  the  conversation  by  assuring  me,  with  sundry  oaths,  he 
had  a  regard  for  me,  and  meant  to  help  me  out  of  my  present 
difficulties.  He  then  showed  me  that  his  manacles  were  loose  ; 
and  swearing  he  was  "not  going  to  stay  to  be  strung  up  by  that 
blasted  old  skurmudgeon,  Aubrey,  whom  he  had  helped  to  a  for- 
tune,curse  him,"  he  informed  me  that  he  designed  making  his  escape 
from  the  fort,  and,  out  of  his  friendship  for  me,  would  restore  me 
to  liberty  also. 

I  was  astonished  at  what  seemed  the  audacity  of  such  a  design, 
and  asked  how  he  could  hope  to  break  from  a  garrisoned  fort,  with 
sentries  at  the  gates  and  along  the  walls  ?  He  replied  that  "  the 
garrison  was  nothing — the  officers  were  all  dressing  for  a  ball, 
which  the  Intendent  was  to  give  them  that  evening — "  ("  Alas  !" 
thought  I,  "  but  for  this  vile  Brown,  I  might  have  had  the  honor 
of  dancing  with  the  charming  Isabel  !") — "  half  the  soldiers  had 
already  slipped  away  to  seek  their  own  diversions;  as  for  the  sentries, 
the  lubbers  would  go  to  sleep  as  soon  as  the  officers  were  oft' ;" 
and  finally  he  assured  me  he  had  friends  in  the  fort,  who  would 
make  escape  an  easy  matter.  I  asked  what  was  to  be  done,  after 
escaping.  Was  he  to  fly  back  to  the  Indians  again,  or  abscond 
about  the  town  to  be  discovered  and  again  imprisoned  ?  Upon 
which  he  invoked  a  blessing  on  my  brain  of  mud  and  molasses,  as 
he  called  it,  and  told  me  he  had  struck  up  a  league  with  his  old 
friend  Duck,  "  who  was  Tim  Duck,  for  all  his  blasted  lies  to  the 
governor,"  and  that  they  were  to  escape  together  in  the  Jumping 
Jenny,  which  was  lying  hard  by  the  fort. 

Although  I  listened  to  this  account  not  without  interest,  I  felt 
my  curiosity  moved  by  the  reference  to  Skipper  Duck,  as  connected 
with  the  subject  of  the  Sally  Ann ;  and  I  could  not  help  asking 
him  "  if  there  was  then  no  truth  in  what  he  had  told  Colonel 
Aubrey  ?"  "  All  a  blasted  yarn,"  said  he,  "  from  beginning  to 
end."  "  But  you  were  mate  of  the  schooner,  and  must  know 
whether  she  really  foundered  or  not,  and  whether  the  fate  of 
Colonel  Aubrey's  brother  was  as  you  represented  it."  "  What's 
that  your  business  ?"  said  he,  sharply ;  "  stick  to  things  that  con- 


ROBIN   DAY.  307 

cern  you,  sink  me,  and  stand  ready  for  cutting  loose  from  the 
fort  whenever  I  gives  the  order." 

I  told  Captain  Brown  "  I  had  no  objections  to  his  making  his 
escape,  if  he  could,  and  that  nothing  would  give  me  more  satis- 
faction  than  to  be  certain  I  should  never  more  see  him  again  in  the 
world  ;  that  as  to  escaping  with  him,  I  had  no  intentions  that  way 
at  all :  I  was  under  no  fears  of  being  strung  up  by  Colonel 
Aubrey,  as  he  professed  to  be,  and  was  content  to  remain  where 
[  was.  In  short,  I  told  him  I  would  not  fly  with  him.  Upon 
which  he  called  me  sundry  hard  names,  swore,  with  a  diabolical 
gjrin,  that  when  I  knew  him  better  I  would  find  the  first  thing 
for  a  first  lieutenant  to  do  was  to  obey  orders,  and  then,  to  my 
great  satisfaction,  left  me  to  my  meditations,  and  to  my  castle- 
building,  which,  asit  is  always  a  seductive  employment,and  was  then 
the  most  agreeable  one  I  could  engage  in,  I  continued  for  an  hour 
longer  ;  at  which  period  my  fancies  began  to  flag,  and  my  head 
to  nod  with  all  the  grace  of  a  Chinese  Mandarin's,  in  the  face  of  her 
ladyship,  the  moon. 


508  ADVENTURES     OF 


•     CHAPTER  LV 

JRobin  Day  escapes  against  his  will  from  the  fort,  and  finds  him- 
self a  third  time  on  board  the  Jumping  Jenny. 

I  WAS,  in  a  word,  on  the  point  of  falling  asleep,  the  night, 
though  a  late  November  one,  being,  in  that  benignant  climate, 
quite  warm  and  agreeable,  and  I  had  just  begun  to  dream  I  saw 
my  friend  Captain  Dare  dancing  a  waltz  with  the  beautiful  Isabel, 
in  the  midst  of  a  splendid  assemblage  of  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
who  were  all  saying,  "  what  a  handsome  couple  they  were,"  when 
the  rage  and  envy  and  jealousy  into  which  the  visionary  spectacle 
threw  me  were  suddenly  dispelled  by  a  couple  of  men  jerking  me 
up  by  the  elbows,  bidding  me,  in  Spanish,  follow  them,  and  then, 
without  waiting  for  me  to  obey,  hurrying  me  away  I  knew  not 
whither. 

My  first  idea  was  that  they  were  soldiers  of  the  fort  conduct- 
ing me  to  some  lock-up  place  for  the  night ;  my  next,  finding  they 
were  hastening  me  to  the  gate  of  the  fort,  was  that  they  were 
messengers  despatched  by  Colonel  Aubrey  to  invite  me  again  to 
his  presence  ;  a  notion  extremely  agreeable,  as  it  convinced  me 
the  representations  of  Captain  Dickey,  together  with  those  of 
the  Senorita  Isabel,  had  fully  succeeded  in  restoring  me  to  his 
favor. 

Nor  was  this  flattering  assurance  dispelled  until  I  suddenly 
found  myself  upon  the  shore  of  the  bay,  where  were  a  number  of 
men  crowding  into  a  small  boat,  and  another,  nearly  empty,  row- 
ing with  muffled  oars  from  a  shallop  that  lay  anchored  a  little 
way  from  the  beach.  That  shallop,  my  fears  told  me,  was  the 
Jumping  Jenny,  and  my  two  unknown  friends,  it  was  plain,  were 
conducting  me  to  her. 

I  endeavored  to  come  to  a  stop,  assuring  my  conductors  "  I  was 
not  one  of  the  escaping  party,  did  not  choose  to  run  away,  and 
would  go  back,  if  they  pleased,  to  the  fort ; "  upon  which  they  dis- 
played a  brace  of  glittering  knives,  and  one  of  them  said,  in 


EOBIN    DAY.  309 

Spanish,  "I  might  go  to  the  mire,  for  all  he  cared,"  (which  is  a 
polite  way  they  have  in  Spanish  of  telling  you  you  may  go  to  a 
much  worse  place,)  while  the  other  swore  a  terrible  Castilian  oath 
— "  he  would  eat  my  soul  if  I  gave  them  any  further  trouble." 
There  was  no  resisting  such  an  oath,  two  Spanish  knives,  a  pair  of 
whiskered  visages  that  looked  uncommonly  ferocious  in  the  moon- 
light ;  and  I  therefore  yielded,  and,  with  a  Heavy  heart,  stepped 
into  the  boat,  which,  three  minutes  afterwards,  I  exchanged  for  the 
deck  of  the  Jumping  Jenny. 

"Are  you  there,  lieutenant,  d — n  my  blood?"  cried  Captain 
Brown,  whom  I  had  not  before  seen,  but  who  now  gave  me  a  grin 
and  a  squeeze  of  the  hand. 

"  Captain  Brown,"  said  I,  intending  to  remonstrate  with  him 
for  thus  carrying  me  off  against  my  will ;  but  was  cut  short  by  his 
saying,  in  tones  too  diabolically  emphatic  to  be  resisted,  "  Hold 
your  jaw,  you —  "  (but  I  omit  the  epithet,) — or  I'll  fry  you  for 
supper  ! "  and  I  saw  him  no  more  for  several  minutes  ;  during 
which  he  was  busily  engaged  restoring  order  among  a  great  num- 
ber of  men  who  crowded  the  deck,  and  getting  the  Jumping  Jenny 
under  way.  The  latter  purpose  was  effected  with  surprising  ra- 
pidity ;  and  in  a  moment,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  the  sloop  was  under 
full  sail,  driving  with  a  favorable  wind  down  the  bay. 

The  moon,  which,  until  this  period,  was  extremely  bright,  reveal- 
ing the  objects  on  shore  with  great  distinctness,  was  now  suddenly 
overcast  with  clouds — a  fortunate  circumstance,  as  it  proved  ;  for 
presently  a  great  hubbub  was  heard  arising  in  the  fort,  which  we 
were  fast  leaving  behind  us  ;  and  by  and  by  several  cannons  were 
fired  off,  the  balls  of  which  came  dancing  along  the  water  at  no 
great  distance  from  us,  and  perhaps  would  have  come  still  closer, 
had  the  gunners  been  favored  with  a  better  light  to  direct  their 
aim.  Rockets  were  also  let  off,  and  these  were  presently  answered 
by  others  that  appeared  in  the  air  above  the  fort  at  the  Barrancas, 
as  it  was  called — a  position  a  few  miles  below  Pensacola,  and  just 
at  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  which  it  was  supposed  to  command. 

Upon  this,  there  began  to  be  some  confusion  and  indications  of 
alarm  among  my  fellow  fugitives,  which  Captain  Brown,  who 
seemed  to  have  assumed  the  command  of  the  vessel,  attempted  to 
remove  by  cursing  and  swearing  ;  failing  in  which,  he  threw  open 
the  hatches,  and  directed  all  who  were  "  afraid  of  their  carcasses  " 
to  descend  into  the  hold  ;  and  if  the  spirit  of  his  crew  was  to  be 


310  ADVENTURES    OP 

determined  by  the  readiness  with  which  the  invitation  was  accepted, 
it  was  certain  three-fourths  of  the  company  were  not  heroes,  for 
just  so  many  of  them  immediately  vanished  from  the  deck. 

My  own  inclinations,  notwithstanding  that  it  might  be  supposed 
my  experience  in  the  wars  had  robbed  me  of  all  faint-heartedness, 
were  also  in  favor  of  a  descent  into  the  hold  ;  but  a  sense  of  shame 
withheld  me,  not  to  say  I  was  conscious  there  could  be,  in  reality, 
little  protection  from  danger  in  such  a  place,  on  board  so  small  a 
vessel.  Anxiety,  moreover,  to  ascertain  the  destination  of  the 
sloop,  and  the  designs  of  Captain  Brown,  which  I  feared  might  be 
none  of  the  most  virtuous  or  lawful,  kept  me  upon  the  deck  ;  and 
I  watched  the  first  opportunity  to  accost  him  again,  demanding 
whither  we  were  bound.  "To  h — 11 !"  quoth  Captain  Brown  ;  or- 
dering me  a  second  time,  in  the  most  ferocious  tones,  to  hold  my 
tongue,  which  I  did  ;  for  I  saw  he  was  in  no  humor  for  trifling. 
Indeed,  he  seemed  to  have  been  suddenly  changed  into  another 
man,  and  was,  withal,  so  grum,  and  crusty,  and  savage,  that  I 
thought  it  was  my  best  plan  to  keep  out  of  his  way  as  much  as 
possible  for  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

I  accordingly  left  the  quarter-deck,  where  I  had  previously  ta- 
ken my  stand,  and  went  to  the  bow  of  the  vessel,  where  was  a 
group  of  men,  some  of  them,  as  I  knew  by  their  voices,  the  com- 
rades of  Skipper  Duck,  and  other  Spaniards,  who  had  their  eyes  di- 
rected towards  the  Barrancas  fort,  which  we  were  fast  approach- 
ing, though  endeavoring  to  pass  it  at  as  great  a  distance  as  the 
width  of  the  channel  would  permit.  As  we  drew  nigh  they  be- 
gan to  fire  upon  us,  but  did  us  no  harm,  until,  by  some  mischance, 
the  Jumping  Jenny  was  run  upon  a  shoal,  where  she  lay  nearly 
an  hour,  until  the  rising  of  the  tide  floated  her  off  ;  and  during 
that  time  the  gunners  of  the  fort,  having  a  stationary  object  to 
aim  at,  and  occasional  moonlight  to  direct  them,  succeeded  in  stri- 
king us  with  several  balls,  one  of  which  knocked  a  great  hole  into 
the  cabin  and  killed  a  man  who  had  taken  refuge  there  ;  while 
another,  still  more  unfortunately,  as  Captain  Brown,  judging  by 
his  execrations,  seemed  to  regard  it,  carried  away  the  bowsprit,  by 
which  the  jumping  Jenny  was  very  seriously  disabled.  The  mis- 
chief was  repaired  in  some  way  or  other  by  the  exertions  of  Brown 
and  the  sailors,  so  that  presently,  the  tide  floating  us  clear  of  the 
shoal,  we  were  able  to  make  way  against  the  current,  to  get  out 
of  reach  of  the  fort,  and  finally  to  proceed  to  sea. 


ROBIN    DAY.  311 

As  soon  as  we  were  beyond  the  range  of  the  Barrancas  guns,  all 
hands  were  called  up  to  assist  in  further  repairs  that  were  found 
to  be  needed  ;  and  I  had  now  an  opportunity  of  making  my  re- 
marks upon  the  crew,  whose  numbers,  for  there  were  nearly  forty 
of  us  altogether,  had  previously  tilled  me  with  surprise.  I  had  al- 
ready distinguished  the  voices  of  Duck's  crew  of  British  deserters ; 
I  now  saw  that  Duck  himself  was  among  them,  and  apparently  on 
pretty  good  terms  with  Captain  Brown  ;  and  I  had  some  reason 
to  dread  the  fury  of  his  revengeful  temper ;  but  he  was  too  busy 
to  notice  me.  I  was  next  struck  with  the  appearance  of  twelve 
or  thirteen  negroes,  all  very  likely  fellows,  whose  awkwardness 
with  their  legs  and  hands  proved  they  were  too  little  accustomed 
to  salt  water  to  be  pirates,  as  Colonel  Aubrey  had  been  inclined 
to  suspect  them,  while  their  coarse  tow-linen  garments,  resembling 
those  in  which  I  had  seen  the  negroes  so  commonly  dressed  in  Vir- 
ginia, convinced  me  that  they  were,  as  I  had  suspected,  slaves 
whom  Duck  had  stolen  or  seduced  away  from  their  masters.  Be- 
sides these,  there  were  nine  or  ten  Spaniards,  most  ferocious 
looking  fellows,  in  whom  I  fancied  I  recognized  the  ball-and-chain 
prisoners,  or  felons,  of  the  fort ;  and  my  suspicions  were  correct, 
for,  as  it  afterwards  proved,  there  was  but  one  honest  fellow  among 
them,  if  such  I  may  call  a  soldier  who  had  been  an  ancient  com- 
rade of  Brown,  and  was  easily  seduced  by  him  to  desert  his  post 
as  a  sentry  at  the  fort-gate,  and  assist  in  the  escape  of  all  the  pris- 
oners who  were  desirous  of  deliverance. 

Last  of  all  came  creeping  from  the  hold — and  I  was  confounded  at 
the  sight  of  them — my  old  friends  the  Bloody  Volunteers,  who, 
as  I  soon  learned  from  them,  had  been  imposed  upon  by  Brown, 
or  his  confederates,  to  believe  that  the  Spanish  Governor  had 
ordered  them  all  to  be  shot  at  sunrise  ;  that  Captain  Dicky 
sanctioned  or  ordered  their  flight  in  the  Jumping  Jenny  ;  and 
finally,  that  the  Jumping  Jenny  was  to  carry  them  around  to  Mo- 
bile, at  which  American  town  they  were  assured  they  would  cer- 
tainly arrive,  at  the  f  urtherest,  in  twenty-four  hours.  I  assured 
them,  privately,  that  two-thirds  of  the  story  told  them  were  un- 
doubtedly false ;  that  the  Governor  could  not  have  ordered  them 
to  be  shot,  nor  could  Captain  Dicky  have  sanctioned,  or  even 
known,  of  their  escape  ;  and  as  for  the  remaining  third,  I  feared 
that  was  as  false  as  the  others,  and  that  the  Jumping  Jenny  was 


312  ADVENTURES     OF 

more  likely  to  carry  us  to  Barrataria  Bay,  among  the  freebooters, 
than  to  at  honest  place  like  Mobile. 

The  Bloody  Volunteers  were  indignant  at  the  idea,  and  Cor- 
poral Pigeon,  a  courageous  young  fellow,  the  only  non-commis- 
sioned officer  (except  the  Captain,)  who  had  survived  the  Indian 
war,  began  to  hint  that  we  were  twelve  of  us,  who,  if  we  stood 
together,  might  take  the  question  as  what  port  the  Jumping  Jen- 
ny should  sail  to,  into  our  own  hands,  and  to  swear,  he  for  one, 
would  never  go  to  such  a  place  as  Barrataria  Bay  ;  when  the  ves- 
sel, coming  into  rough  water,  began  to  pitch  and  roll,  the  Bloody 
Volunteers  all  fell  deadly  sick,  and  Corporal  Pigeon  declared, 
with  woful  qualms,  the  Jumping  Jenny  might  carry  him  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea — it  was  all  now  indifferent  to  him. 


ROBIN   DAY.  313 


CHAPTER    LVI. 

The  Jumping  Jenny  hoists  the  black  flag,  attacks  and  captures  a 
superior  vessel,  and  Robin  Day  finds  himself  a  pirate. 

WITH  all  the  repairs  that  could  be  given  her,  the  Jumping  Jenny 
made  such  slow  progress  that,  by  daylight,  we  were  not  more  than 
ten  or  fifteen  miles  distant  from  the  land,  with  the  wind,  which 
had  suddenly  chopped  about,  blowing  us  right  back  to  Pensacola. 
And  to  add  to  our  uneasiness,  we  could  perceive  a  sail  standing 
out  from  the  bay,  which  the  Spaniards  said  could  be  no  other  than 
the  Governor's  vessel,  the  Querida,  which  there  was  reason  to 
believe  had  been  hastily  armed  and  sent  out  to  retake  us.  At  the 
same  time  another  sail  was  discovered,  which  proved  to  be  a 
schooner,  making  in,  with  a  fair  wind,  for  the  bay,  and  approach- 
ing us  very  fast.  Upon  this,  Captain  Brown,  after  surveying  the 
latter  vessel  from  the  mast-head,  made  a  speech,  as  soon  as  he  had 
descended,  or  rather,  two  speeches,  one  in  Spanish,  the  other  in 
English,  in  both  which  tongues  he  swore  with  equal  fluency,  de- 
claring that  we  must  "  take  that  schooner,  or  hang,  every  soul  of 
us  ;  because  how,  we  must  have  a  better  ship  than  we  sailed  in, 
if  we  expected  to  escape  that  blasted  Querida,  whereof  he  sup- 
posed she  was  full  of  men  and  guns  from  the  fort,  and  would  blow 
us  into  kingdom-come,  unless  we  could  give  her  the  slip."  And 
he  hinted  that  a  signal  of  distress,  with  our  evident  crippled  con- 
dition, would  bring  the  schooner  near  enough  to  make  sure  of  her. 

His  words  were  so  manifestly  true,  and  the  idea  of  capture  so 
unpalatable  to  every  soul  on  board,  except  myself,  who  desired 
nothing  so  much  as  to  be  out  of  a  vessel  commanded  by  such  a 
desperado,  and  perhaps,  the  negroes  for  whose  wishes  nobody 
inquired  or  cared,  that  it  was  straightway  resolved  the  schooner 
should,  if  possible,  be  taken  and  converted  to  our  uses  ;  even  the 
Bloody  Volunteers  raising  their  disconsolate  faces  from  the  sloop's 
side,  over  which  they  had  been  for  a  long  time  all  hanging,  and 
bobbing  and  gulping  in  a  row,  to  retch  out  a  forlorn  assurance 


314  ADVENTURES    OF 

that  they  would  fight  rather  than  surrender,  if  there  was  any 
danger  of  being  hanged  by  the  captors.  The  Spaniards  and 
sailors,  in  particular,  avowed  themselves  ready  for  action,  and  pro- 
posed to  raise  from  the  hold,  where  it  was  yet  lying,  the  formidable 
long-torn  by  way  of  preparation  ;  but  Brown  swore  he  was  no 
such  lubber  as  to  put  an  eighteen  pound  shot  through  the  ship  he 
was  just  going  to  sail  in,  or  to  display  so  formidable  an  engine  to 
the  eyes  of  men  whom  he  was  inviting  to  his  assistance.  And, 
that  there  might  be  as  little  room  for  suspicion  as  possible,  he 
directed  all  the  company,  with  the  exception  of  six  or  seven  men, 
to  conceal  themselves  below,  keeping  themselves  in  readiness,  with 
such  arms  as  they  could  find,  to  rush  up  when  he  should  give  the 
command. 

This  order,  I  found,  was  not  to  extend  to  myself,  whom  he 
arrested,  as  I  was  going  below,  telling  me,  with  some  appearance 
of  his  former  devilish  humor,  that  "  the  quarter  deck  was  the  place 
for  a  lieutenant,  and  that  he  expected  me  to  do  my  duty  and  fight 
like  a  hell-cat."  I  summoned  courage,  the  crisis  being  alarming, 
to  assure  him  that  we  had  very  different  ideas  of  our  duties  ;  that 
I  saw  no  right  /had  to  attack  that  schooner  or  any  other,  and  no 
right  lie  had  to  command  me  to  do  so  ;  that  I  was  not  his  lieu- 
tenant, and  would  not  consent  to  be  so  regarded  ;  and  if  he  was 
bent  upon  a  desperate  course  himself,  he  might  be  assured  that  I 
was  not  going  to  be  dragged  into  it  with  him. 

To  this  he  vouchsafed  to  reply,  first,  that,  "  as  to  the  matter  of 
right,  I  talked  like  a  sucking  pig,  and  must  hold  my  jaw  for  the 
future,  on  pain  of  having  it  sliced  off  with  a  broadaxe ;"  secondly, 
"  shiver  his  timbers,  he  loved  me,  and  was  willing  to  make  my 
fortune  ;  and  as  for  the  lieutenancy,  sink  him,  he  had  promised  I 
should  be  his  lieutenant,  and  I  should  be,  d — n  his  blood,  or  else 
his  cook,  or  his  powder-monkey ;  for  he  saw  nothing  else  I  was  fit 
for;"  and,  finally,  as  to  my  assurance  I  was  not  going  to  be 
dragged  by  him  into  any  unlawful  act,  he  told  me  "  I  should  be 
dragged  through  h — 11  fire,  if  he  willed  it  ;"  and  he  ended  the 
ferocious  reply  by  warning  me  that  he  was  "  my  captain,  and  he 
was  Captain  Hellcat,  split  him,  who  never  had  a  man  say  nay  to 
him  ;  and  that  upon  any  grumbling  or  disobedience  of  orders,  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  tie  me  up  and  give  me  a  thousand  lashes." 

I  found,  in  short,  that  Captain  Brown  on  land,  and  Captain  Hell- 
cat at  sea,  were  two  very  different  persons  ;  and  that,  however 


ROBUST    DAY.  315 

much  I  might  have  detested  the  one,  there  remained  for  me  noth- 
ing but  to  fear  the  other.  My  spirit  was  not  heroic  enough  to  rise 
in  arms  against  an  oppressor,  who  talked  of  broadaxes,  and  a  thou- 
sand lashes,  not  to  speak  of  the  metaphorical  fires  of  doom,  as  if 
nothing  could  be  more  natural  to  him  than  to  employ  them  as  in- 
struments of  authority  and  punishment  ;  and  I  confess,  with  as 
much  shame  as  is  proper  to  the  occasion,  that  his  savage  menaces 
terrified  me  into  immediate  submission  ;  in  which  state  I  re- 
mained as  long  as  it  was  my  miserable  fate  to  continue  in  his 
hands. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Brown  had  completed  his  preparations  for  the 
attack,  by  arming  the  men  he  kept  on  deck,  who  were  the  Spanish 
felons,  three  or  four  of  the  sailors,  and  Skipper  Duck,  with  pistols 
and  cutlasses  brought  from  below  ;  which  arms  were  laid  about  in 
places  whence  the  men  could  snatch  them  up  in  a  moment,  and 
where  there  was  no  fear  they  could  be  seen  by  the  people  in  the 
schooner.  He  then  hoisted  a  flag  of  distress,  which  was  no  sooner 
seen  by  the  schooner,  than  she  stood  directly  for  us,  and  came  so 
near  that,  by  some  manoeuvre  or  trick,  which  I  did  not  exactly  un- 
derstand, Brown  managed  to  make  her  run  afoul  of  his  own  vessel; 
which  no  sooner  happened  than  he  gave  a  terrible  yell,  more  like 
the  scream  of  an  Indian  than  anything  else,  and  leaped  on  board 
the  schooner,  followed  by  the  Spaniards  and  sailors ;  while  the 
rest  of  the  company,  the  remaining  sailors,  the  negroes,  and  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  came  tumbling  up  from  the  hold,  to  complete 
by  their  appearance  the  victory  which  would  have  been  just  as 
easily  won  without  them. 

There  were  but  five  men  on  board  the  schooner,  which  was  but 
a  small  one  ;  they  had  no  arms  to  resist  us,  and  they  were  so  ter- 
rified at  this  most  unexpected  assault  from  men  into  whose  power 
they  had  been  drawn  by  their  humanity,  that  they  yielded  at  once 
and  fell  upon  their  knees,  piteously  begging  for  their  lives.  Nor 
had  I,  who,  in  pursuance  of  orders  which  I  feared  to  disobey,  crept, 
all  of  a  tremble,  into  the  schooner  with  the  others,  -the  least  thought 
that  any  harm  would  be  done  them  ;  because  it  was  so  needless, 
and  they  had  not  provoked  it  by  resistance.  But,  alas,  I  had  not 
yet  attained  a  full  conception  of  the  character  of  Brown  ;  who, 
with  a  most  murderous  spirit,  called  out  to  "  give  the  rascals  no 
quarter,"  fired  his  pistols  at  them,  as  he  jumped  upon  the  deck, 
and  then  rushed  upon  them  with  his  cutlass,  followed  by  the  Span- 


316  ADVENTURES    OF 

iards  ;  who,  whether  the  whole  thing  had  been  arranged  between 
them  and  Brown  before,  or  whether  his  devilish  example  awoke 
a  sudden  and  equally  devilish  spirit  of  imitation,  as  is  most  pro- 
bable, were  as  forward  and  active  as  himself  ;  and  the  poor  men 
were  immediately  butchered  before  my  eyes. 

The  horror  with  which  this  brutal  and  wanton  slaughter  filled 
my  whole  mind  was  shared  by  others  of  the  company,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  Bloody  Volunteers  and  two  or  three  of  the  English 
sailors,  as  I  could  see  by  their  countenances,  turned  upon  one  an- 
other with  lootfs  of  fear  and  inquiry.  Like  me,  they  seemed  to 
wonder  what  could  have  urged  Brown  to  such  a  massacre  ;  a  mys- 
tery which  was  presently  explained  by  his  exclaiming,  "  There,  d — n 
my  blood  !  the  thing  is  done,  and  there  is  no  backing  out  of  it.  Now, 
my  jolly  dogs,  the  sea  is  before  you  and  the  gallows  behind  you — 
the  gallows  or  the  yard-arm,  d'ye  see,  blast  me  ;  whereof,  on  one 
or  the  other  there's  not  a  man  of  you  but  must  swing  the  moment 
he  turns  his  face  backward.  So  a  free  life  is  the  word  for  all,  be- 
cause, shiver  me,  my  hearties,  you  can't  help  it  ;  a  free  life  and  a 
jolly  one.  And  here  you  are  with  a  good  vessel  under  you  ;  and 
here  am  I,  d — n  my  blood,  Hellcat  by  name,  to  command  you — to 
show  you  where  gold  grows  on  the  sea,  that  may  be  hauled  up  by 
bucketsfull,  and  where  to  spend  it  without  fear  of  law  or  lawyer. 
So,  say  the  word,  sink  me,  a  gallows  on  shore  or  'a  cruise  under 
the  sign  of  the  Hellcat !" 

It  was  plain  from  his  own  words  that  Brown  had  murdered  the 
poor  wretches  for  the  purpose  of  making  pirates  of  us  all,  whether 
we  would  or  not  ;  for,  after  such  a  deed  of  blood — which 
in  the  eyes  of  the  law  must  dye  us  all  with  nearly  equal  hues — 
few  felt  that  anything  remained  but  to  adopt  the  outlaw  life  on 
which  he  himself  was  evidently  bent.  Or  if  any  there  were,  they 
were  like  me,  too  much  overcome  by  fear  of  the  ruthless  desperado 
to  utter  a  single  word  of  remonstrance.  The  Spaniards  received 
the  proposal  of  a  cruise  with  cries  of  approbation,  the  Englishmen 
shook  hands  and  said,  "if  they  were  to  be  hanged,  they  must  be, 
and  there  was  no  helping  it;"  the  negroes  asked  Massa  Hellcat,  as 
they  called  him,  if  they  were  to  be  free  provided  they  turned  pi- 
rates also  ;  and  upon  Brown  saying  they  should  be  "  as  free  as 
blackbirds,"  they  uttered  a  huzza  and  said  they  could  cut  throats 
as  well  as  anybody.  The  Bloody  Volunteers  said  nothing  ;  horror 
and  sea-sickness  together  subdued  them  to  submission. 


KOBIN    DAY.  317 


CHAPTER    LVII. 

In  which  Robin  Day  is  carried  to  Cuba,  and  made  acquainted 
with  the  tender  mercies  of  pirate  law  and  Captain  Hellcat. 

THE  capture,  the  murder,  the  proposal  of  Brown  for  a  cruise 
and  its  acceptance,  were  altogether  the  work  of  but  a  few  minutes. 
A  few  more  served,  at  Brown's  orders,  to  transfer  from  the  Jump- 
ing Jenny  to  the  schooner  every  thing  of  value  which  the  former 
contained — the  sails,  stores,  and  arms,  and  especially  the  eighteen- 
pounder,  which  was  swung  up  from  the  hold  and  received 
on  board  the  schooner  with  acclamations,  as  the  herald  and 
author  of  many  a  future  victory.  All  being  at  last  taken  from  her, 
the  Jumping  Jenny  was  cut  loose,  after  being  first  set  on  fire ;  the 
bodies  of  the  murdered  mariners  were  thrown  overboard;  and  the 
schooner,  which  we  soon  discovered  had  on  her  stern  the  name  of 
the  Moro,  or  Moor,  of  Havana,  bore  away  to  the  South  West, 
leaving  the  sloop  to  burn,  and  the  Querida  to  follow  us,  if  she 
could. 

A  search  was  now  instituted  throughout  the  Moro,  and  it  was 
soon  found  that  she  had  on  board  a  cargo  of  military  stores  for 
the  garrison  at  Pensacola;  a  happy  circumstance  for  the  new-made 
pirates,  for  the  Jumping  Jenny  was  but  badly  provisioned,  and  the 
Intendent  had  taken  the  precaution  to  remove  from  her  nearly  all 
the  gunpowder,  as  well  as  some  of  the  small  arms,  so  that  the  fol- 
lowers of  Captain  Brown,  but  for  this  discovery,  would  have  been 
as  badly  armed  as  they  were  provisioned  for  the  intended  cruise. 
There  was  found,  also,  a  good  store  of  liquors  on  board;  a  discov- 
ery that  completed  the  exultation  of  the  commander,  who  imme- 
diately ordered  a  cask  of  brandy  to  be  broached,  and  treated  his 
crew  to  a  rouse,  drinking,  himself,  several  deep  potations  with  all 
the  gusto  of  one  who  enjoyed  and  had  long  been  denied  the 
luxury. 

This  completed  the  conversion  of  his  proselytes,  or  of  all  who 
were  convertible.  The  Spaniards  uttered  many  vivas  in  honor  of 


318  ADVENTURES    OF 

El  Capitan  Gato,  who,  they  protested,  was  the  greatest  man  that 
ever  sailed  the  sea;  the  Englishmen  shook  hands  again,  and  swore 
they  cared  not  a  fig  for  gallows  and  yard-arms,  the  negroes  fell  to 
singing  and  quarreling,  and  one  of  the  Bloody  Volunteers  declared 
"  he  would  not  object  to  a  little  pirating,  if  he  could  do  it  on  dry 
land,  because,  by  George  " — and  finished  the  rest  of  his  speech 
over  the  side  of  the  vessel.  Even  Captain  Hellcat  became  a  little 
glorious,  and  expatiated  upon  the  pleasures  and  advantages  of  a 
freebooter's  life,  robbing  and  murdering  at  will ;  "  he  had  tried  the 
land,  d — n  his  blood,  in  every  way  he  could  take  it;  he  had 
swindled  and  cheated;  robbed  houses  and  nigger- traders ;  taken 
scalps,  and  three  wives  among  the  Indians ;  cut  thief -takers 
throats  and  played  the  quack-doctor;  but  after  all,  blast  him,  it 
was  nothing;  the  sea  was  the  only  place  fora  jolly  dog,  a  free- 
booter's life  the  only  life  for  a  gentleman  and  man  of  honor." 

"  And,  talking  of  honor,  sink  me,"  said  he,  suddenly  turning  his 
eye  upon  Skipper  Dick,  who  was  serving  out  grog  from  the  cask, 
"  I  have  just  to  inform  you,  my  young  hellcats,  that  a  pirate  must 
be  a  man  of  honor  as  well  as  another.  He  that  betrays  his  mess- 
mate to  the  harpies  on  shore,  is  a  rascal,  and  a  knife  in  the  gizzard 
is  too  good  for  him. 

And  with  that,  reminding  the  unfortunate  Skipper  that  he  had 
played  the  traitor  at  Norfolk,  and  assuring  him  that  he  spared 
his  life  only  because  of  his  acting  with  good  faith,  and  playing 
so  important  a  part,  in  the  escape  from  Pensacola,  he  ordered  him 
to  be  tied  up  and  punished  with  five  hundred  lashes. 

The  astounded  Skipper  was  immediately  seized  upon  by  the 
sailors  and  Spaniards,  who  seemed  indignant  at  his  perfidy,  and 
eager  to  prove  their  zeal  to  the  commander  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
his  remonstrances,  which  soon  changed  to  pleadings  and  beseech- 
ings,  the  punishment  was  inflicted  with  a  scourge  hastily  con- 
structed of  knotted  ropeyarns,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
negroes,  ten  of  whom  were  ordered  to  administer  each  fifty 
lashes  on  his  naked  back,  and  to  administer  them  well,  which  they 
did. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  I,  who  had  such  cause  to  hate  him, 
should  grieve  for  any  misfortune  that  could  happen  to  Skipper 
Duck  ;  but  the  atrocity,  the  horrible  severity  of  the  punishment, 
which  appeared  to  me  only  a  more  brutal  murder  that  any  I  had 
witnessed,  awoke  emotions  that  were  akin  to  pity  ;  and  perceiving 
the  poor  wretch  had  fainted  before  more  than  half  the  number  of 


ROBIN    DAY.  319 

stripes  had  been  inflicted,  I  presumed  to  beg  Captain  Brown  not 
to  carry  the  punishment  further,  assuring  him  the  man  would 
die  under  it.  All  the  answer  I  got  was,  that  "  he  might  die 
and  be  d — d,"  and  an  injunction  to  mind  my  own  business  ;  and 
when  the  bloody  business  was  over,  and  Duck,  at  last  untied, 
fell  like  a  dead  man  on  the  deck,  he  very  coolly  ordered  the 
negroes  to  "  throw  the  carcass  overboard." 

I  interfered  again,  and  having  felt  the  poor  fellow's  pulse, 
said  he  was  not  yet  dead ;  upon  which  Hellcat  swore  I  was  a 
doctor,  and  I  should  be  the  ship's  doctor,  now  he  thought  of 
it,  and  so  directed  me  to  take  him  in  hand  and  cure  him.  I 
said  I  should  be  happy  to  do  all  I  could  for  him,  but  asked 
what  I  was  to  do  for  remedies  ?  "  Oh  !"  said  the  unfeeling 
villain,  "  give  him  some  holly-golly-wmo  !"  and  then  left  me, 
after  a  great  horse-laugh,  to  solve  the  difficulty  as  I  could. 

Fortunately,  there  was  soon  after  discovered  among  the  stores 
the  Moro  a  large  chest  of  drugs,  that  was  doubtless  intended 
for  hospital  service  at  Pensacola  ;  so  that  I  had  the  means  of 
trying  my  skill,  though  I  had  but  little  confidence  it  would  re- 
cover the  skipper  from  the  effects  of  so  dreadful  a  flogging.  I 
had  him  carried  below,  where  I  established  him  as  com- 
fortably as  I  could,  dressed  his  wounds  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  and  had  the  satisfaction,  in  about  an  hour,  of  seeing  him 
open  his  eyes  and  restored,  though  it  was  but  for  a  little 
while,  to  consciousness.  He  seemed  surprised  to  find  me  ad- 
ministering to  him,  and  was  struck  with  a  sudden  remorse  for 
the  wrongs  he  had  done  me,  for  he  begged  me  wildly  to  for- 
give him,  and,  still  more  wildly,  said  he  could  reward  me  for 
my  goodness,  and  would  do  so,  if  he  lived  ;  and  then  he  declared 
he  would  have  vengeance  on  Brown,  whom  he  said  he  could  hang, 
and  would,  too,  if  he  had  to  hang  beside  him.  The  ferment  of  his 
spirits,  added  to  the  anguish  of  his  wounds,  presently  threw  him 
into  a  delirium,  in  which  condition,  indeed,  with  occasional  and 
imperfect  intervals  of  consciousness,  as  I  may  here  say,  he  re- 
mained for  more  than  two  week,  in  which  it  was  my  grief  to  be  in 
attendance  upon  him. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Captain  Brown,  though  indulging  in  a  brief 
carouse,  omitted  nothing  necessary  to  secure  his  escape  from  the 
Querida,  which  was  seen  to  sail  towards  the  burning  sloop,  and 
then  alter  her  course  to  pursue  us;  though  it  was  by  and  by  seen 
that  she  was  gradually  falling  behind  us,  which,  as  it  was  said 


320  AD VENTURES     OF 

she  was  a  very  fast  vessel,  was  considered  a  proof  that  the  Moro 
was  no  mean  sailer.  Something  was,  however,  allowed  for  the 
hurry  with  which  the  Querida  had  been  fitted  out,  and,  perhaps, 
imperfectly,  to  pursue  us  ;  and  Captain  Hellcat  himself  said  he 
would  be  very  willing  to  make  an  exchange  of  vessels,  and  give 
as  he  added,  all  the  negroes  to  boot.  Long  before  night  we  had 
lost  sight  of  her  entirely  ;  and  then  our  course  was  altered,  and  I 
understood  from  the  Spaniards  that  we  were  bound,  not  to  Bar- 
rataria,  as  I  had  supposed,  but  to  some  other  haunt  of  pirates  on 
the  coast  of  Cuba. 

And  there  we  arrived  upon  the  fifth  day  of  our  voyage,  during 
which  the  appearance  of  the  schooner  was  altered  by  paint  and 
other  devices,  and  her  name  changed  from  Moro  to  Vibora,  or 
Viper;  a  much  more  appropriate  title  for  a  thing  so  full  of  treach- 
ery and  venomous  hostility  against  all  mankind.  During  this 
period,  Brown  had  converted  her  into  a  pirate  in  earnest,  and 
thoroughly  organized  his  crew,  appointing  for  his  lieutenant  (for 
he  was  now  content  to  dub  me  his  doctor,)  the  ferocious  fellow 
who  had  threatened  to  eat  my  soul  at  Pensacola,  and  who  was  the 
most  worthy  of  the  honor,  although  no  sailor,  because,  next  to 
Brown  himself,  the  most  devilish  spirit  on  board.  This  worthy 
assumed  to  himself  the  name  of  Gatito  or  the  Kitten  ;  but  upon 
Captain  Brown  bestowing  the  same  title  upon  his  followers  in 
general,  the  lieutenant  signified  his  will  to  sail  for  the  future  under 
the  name  of  DiabUtto,  or  the  Little  Devil,  the  diminutive  addi- 
tion being  expressive  merely  of  his  modesty,  for  he  was  a  man 
nearly  six  feet  high,  and  robust  in  proportion. 

We  arrived  upon  the  coast  of  Cuba  without  difficulty  or  ac- 
cident, but,  alas,  not  without  further  bloodshed,  for,  upon  the 
fourth  day  of  the  voyage,  meeting  a  British  schooner,  supposed  to 
be  from  Jamaica,  our  captain,  in  a  fit  of  drunken  valor  (for,  in- 
deed, he  was  seldom  entirely  sober),  determined  to  attack  her, 
although  she  was  armed  with  two  guns,  and  seemed  not  at  all 
afraid  of  us.  She  made,  in  fact,  a  vigorous  resistance,  and  fired  a 
shot  through  us,  by  which  one  man  was  killed  and  three  wounded, 
being  struck  by  splinters  ;  but  a  ball  from  long-torn,  striking  her 
between  wind  and  water,  avenged  the  injury  ;  and  five  minutes 
afterwards  she  went  down,  her  crew,  in  the  meanwhile,  making  sig- 
nals of  surrender  and  distress,  which  no  one  regarded.  As  long  as 
she  remained  above  water,  we  continued  to  fire  at  her,  and  finally 
bore  away,  leaving  three  or  four  miserable  wretches,  who  were 


ROBIN    DAY.  321 

seen  floating  on  the  sea,  clinging  to  planks  and  spars,  to  the  mercy 
of  the  waves  and  sharks,  of  which  there  are  always  great  num- 
bers basking  about  in  the  tropical  regions  of  the  gulf. 

The  next  day  we  came  in  sight  of  the  highlands  of  Cuba,  near 
its  western  cape,  and  entered  an  out-of-the-way  harbor,  where,, 
however,  a  number  of  Spaniards  soon  made  their  appearance  on 
board  the  schooner,  seeming  very  glad  to  see  El  Capitan  Gato, 
whom  they  hailed  as  an  old  acquaintance.  And  here  El  Capitan 
Gato,  to  the  great  astonishment  and  affliction  of  this  portion  of  his 
followers,  immediately  put  up  for  sale  the  thirteen  negroes,  and 
they  fetched  a  very  good  price,  which  Captain  Brown  assured 
them,  by  way  of  consolation,  was  the  only  thing,  according  to  his 
way  of  thinking,  that  a  negro  was  good  for.  Their  place  was  sup- 
plied more  advantageously  for  his  purposes  by  fifteen  cut-throat 
islanders,  selected  from  a  number  who  begged  the  honor  of  mak- 
ing their  fortunes  under  his  diabolical  auspices  ;  and,  truly,  they 
approved  themselves,  in  the  end,  worthy  of  their  leader. 

We  remained  here  but  two  days,  during  which  Captain  Hellcat 
had  an  opportunity  of  establishing  his  authority  by  a  second  act 
of  punishment  inflicted  upon  a  faithless  follower,  and  proved  the 
justice  of  the  remark  with  which  he  adjudged  it — that  "  one  had 
better  walk  into  h — 11  with  a  bumb-shell  hung  round  his  neck 
than  attempt  foul  play  with  him."  It  seemed  that  the  Bloody 
Volunteers,  not  yet  enamored  of  the  free  life  of  the  sea,  and 
very  desirous  to  make  their  escape  from  the  Viper,  had  laid  a  plan 
for  effecting  their  purpose,  as  soon  as  we  entered  the  harbor. 
It  was  resolved  that  if  any  one  should  have  the  good  fortune  to 
get  ashore,  he  should  proceed  in  search  of  a  magistrate,  and  in- 
form him  of  the  true  character  of  the  Viper  ;  for,  poor  fellows, 
they  had  no  thought  but  that  we  were  in  the  harbor  under  false 
colors,  fancying  that  all  the  visitors  of  the  schooner  were  made 
to  believe  she  was  an  honest  trader.  The  public  authorities,  or 
any  good  citizens,  informed  she  was  a  pirate,  they  had  no  doubt 
she  would  be  immediately  seized,  the  murderous  Brown  and  his 
voluntary  followers  conducted  to  the  gallows,  and  themselves 
liberated.  The  attempt  was  made  by  one,  who  was  allowed  to 
accompany  Brown  to  the  shore,  and  succeeded  so  well  in  his  enter- 
prise that,  in  less  than  an  hour  after  he  had  been  first  missed,  he 
was  brought  back  to  the  schooner  by  the  honest  people  of  the 
harbor,  to  whom,  or  to  one  of  them,  who  could  speak  English,, 


322  ADVENTURES    OF 

he  had  told  his  story.  "Very  well,"  quoth  Brown,  making  use 
of  the  language  I  have  chronicled  above  ;  adding,  with  horrible 
oaths,  that  "  since  he  was  so  eager  to  make  his  way  to  the  sharks, 
he  would  help  him  to  them ;  but  they  should  be  water  sharks, 
sink  him,  and  not  land  sharks."  And  the  poor  wretch  was  imme- 
diately bound  by  the  arms  and  let  down  into  the  sea  from  the  bow 
of  the  vessel,  where  he  was  presently  surrounded  by  these  tigers 
of  the  deep,  and  at  last  set  upon  by  them  and  devoured  before 
our  eyes. 

With  all  my  fear  of  Brown,  my  horror  at  such  barbarity  gave 
me  courage  to  interfere,  to  intercede  for  the  poor  fellow's  life  ; 
but  Brown,  who  was  more  intoxicated,  as  well  as  more  devilish 
than  usual,  caught  up  a  cutlass,  and  drove  me  below,  to  "  do  my 
own  butchering,"  as  he  called  it — that  is,  to  attend  to  the  wounded 
men,  who,  as  well  as  Duck,  had  been  consigned  to  my  chirurgical 
care. 


ROBIN     DAY.  823 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

The  second  cruise  of  the  Viper. — She  captures  the  Querida,  and 
the  Intendentfs  daughter  becomes  the  prize  of  Captain  Sell- 
cat. 

THIS  dreadful  act  of  vengeance  completed  the  subjection  of  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  who,  from  that  time  forth,  gave  over  all  plans 
and  prospects  of  escape,  and  yielded  to  their  fate  and  the  tyrant 
into  whose  hands  they  had  fallen,  with  a  sullen  resignation  that 
showed  it  was  an  easy  thing  even  for  the  brave  and  free  to 
stoop  to  bondage  ;  and  a  few  weeks  more  might  have  seen  the 
Bloody  Volunteers,  passing  from  despair  to  recklessness,  con- 
verted into  a  set  of  as  thoroughpaced  buccaneers  and  desperadoes 
as  their  comrades.  As  for  me,  the  case  was  somewhat  different. 
My  medical  office,  and,  perhaps,  the  mean  opinion  Brown  formed 
of  my  courage,  prevented  my  being  ever  called  on  as  a  combatant; 
and  hence  I  was  in  little  danger  of  being  hardened  into  a  villain 
by  sights  of  blood,  and  the  consciousness  of  having  shed  it. 
But  I  was  none  the  less  a  slave.  The  effect  of  the  murder  was  to 
increase  my  fears  of  Brown,  to  rob  me  of  all  hope  of  escaping  the 
horrible  life  he  had  assigned  me,  and  to  break  down  with  a  sense 
of  misery  and  degradation  the  spirit  which  had  been  once  before 
so  nearly  broken  by  my  first  oppressor.  There  was  some  resem- 
blance, indeed,  between  my  fate  in  the  Viper  and  what  it  had 
once  been  in  the  Jumping  Jenny.  The  difference  was,  that,  in 
the  one  case,  I  had  been  beaten  and  tortured  in  the  body  ;  while, 
in  the  other,  the  scourge  of  brutality  was  applied  to  my  mind. 
The  insults  and  menaces  of  Brown  (perhaps  it  was  my  prudence 
only  which  saved  me  from  grosser  weapons)  were  as  painful  and 
killing  as  ever  had  been  the  blows  of  Skipper  Duck.  A  few 
weeks  might  have  seen  my  brother  volunteers  changed  into 
pirates  ;  but  I,  in  that  time,  must  have  pined  away  and  died  of 
a  broken  heart. 

The  next  day  the  Viper  sailed  out  of  the  harbor,  without,  how- 
ever, proceeding  far,  and  took  a  station  to  intercept  vessels 


324  ADVENTURES     OF 

doubling  the  west  cape  of  .Cuba  ;  and  there  she  remained  cruising 
four  days,  during  which  two  captures  were  made — one  of  them  a 
very  valuable  one — of  vessels  from  Jamaica  ;  and,  in  both 
instances,  their  crews  were  massacred  to  a  man,  for  it  was 
a  maxim  Brown  constantly  inculcated,  to  leave  no  one  to  witness 
against  him.  "He  had  heard  of  many  a  free  lad  of  the  sea 
going  out  of  the  world  in  a  hempen  horse  collar, "  he  said, 
*'  but,  it  had  always  turned  out  they  had  let  some  lubber  off  to 
blab  against  them." 

Of  the  particulars  of  these  murderous  exploits  I  have  ITO  heart 
to  speak  ;  they  are  sickening  to  my  memory.  I  have  enough, 
and  more  than  enough,  to  relate  of  atrocities  in  which  my  own 
interests  and  history  were  too  deeply  involved  to  be  forgotten. 

Returning  for  a  day  to  the  harbor  to  dispose  of  the  prizes  and 
their  cargoes,  for  which  latter,  at  least,  there  seemed  to  be  no 
want  of  purchasers  among  the  honest  people  on  shore,  we  sailed 
out  again  to  the  station,  to  lie  in  wait  for  a  certain  English 
brig,  which  Brown,  in  some  way,  got  intelligence  of,  and  which,  it 
was  said,  would  be  such  a  capture  as  would  make  the  fortune  of 
«very  man  on  board.  Upon  the  second  day  of  the  cruise,  she 
made  her  appearance,  and  efforts  were  made  to  approach  her, 
which  was  found,  however,  to  be  no  easy  task,  as  she  imme- 
diately took  the  alarm,  altered  her  course  to  the  North,  and 
stood  away  from  us  in  a  style  which  proved  her  to  be  a  very 
fast  sailer.  But  she  was  too  valuable  a  prize  to  be  given  up 
without  an  effort;  and,  accordingly,  the  Viper  crowded  on  all  sail  in 
pursuit,  which  was  continued  until  night,  when  we  lost  sight  of  her. 

But  even  then  the  chase  was  riot  abandoned,  for,  supposing 
from  the  relative  position  of  the  vessels,  the  character  of  the  wind, 
and  other  circumstances,  that  the  brig  would  change  her  course 
again  in  the  darkness,  Brown  ordered  a  similar  change  in  the 
course  of  the  Viper,  expecting  to  get  sight  of  the  chase  again  in 
the  morning. 

In  this,  however,  he  was  disappointed,  for,  when  morning  came, 
the  brig  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  ;  but  about  midday,  when  we 
were  beginning  to  retrace  our  course  to  Cuba,  the  man  at  the  mast- 
head descried  a  sail,  which,  at  first  thought  to  be  the  lost  chase, 
was  soon  discovered  to  be  another  brig,  standing,  like  the  Viper, 
to  the  south.  Upon  this,  Hellcat,  who  had  been  assuaging  his 
wrath  at  the  loss  of  the  English  brig  with  deep  potations,  swore 
he  would  take  the  stranger,  if  he  died  for  it — a  resolution  in  which 


ROBIN     DAY.  325 

he  was  confirmed  by  some  of  his  Pensacola  recruits  declaring, 
after  a  time,  that  the  stranger  was  no  other  than  the  Governor's 
brig,  the  Qnerida,  which  had  herself  so  recently  been  the  pursuer. 

To  Brown's  desire  to  attack  her  there  was,  at  first,  a  great  deal 
of  opposition  made  by  many  of  the  crew,  who  feared  she  was 
actually  cruising  in  search  of  us  ;  in  which  case  there  was  every 
reason  to  believe  she  was  sufficiently  well  manned  and  armed  to 
subdue  us.  But  the  lieutenant,  Diablillo,  swore  he  bad  no  appre- 
hensions of  that — the  Querida  was  a  private  vessel  entirely,  armed, 
indeed,  as  all  trading  vessels  were  in  that  period  of  war,  but 
slightly,  and,  if  she  had  been  dispatched  after  the  Jumping 
Jenny,  it  was  because  no  other  vessel  in  port  could  be  so  easily 
got  ready,  and  because  little  danger  to  her  was  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  resistance  of  the  Jumping  Jenny  ;  and  he  added,  more- 
over, as  a  thing  he  knew,  that  the  Querida,  at  the  period  of  our 
flight,  was  preparing  to  sail  to  the  Havanna,  with  invalid  soldiefs 
from  the  garrison,  and,  he  had  no  doubt,  she  was  now  on  the 
voyage,  and  might  be  easily  taken  ;  but,  he  added,  with  a  free- 
booter's discretion,  as  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  she  could 
have  any  and  much  less  a  valuable  cargo  on  board,  coming  from 
such  a  place  as  Pensacola,  he  saw  nothing  to  be  gained  by  engag- 
ing her,  except  blows  ;  for,  truly,  it  might  be  expected  the  old 
soldiers  would  make  some  kind  of  resistance. 

Brown  swore,  in  reply,  the  gain  would  be  the  brig  herself  ; 
and  declared,  with  many  oaths,  he  would  have  her.  He  "had 
fallen  in  love  with  her,"  he  said,  "  in  Philadelphia,  at  first  sight, 
and  had  nearly  run  his  head  into  a  noose  trying  to  get  her  ;  and, 
if  she  was  Governor  Aubrey's  ship,  that  only  made  him  more 
determined  to  take  her  ;  for  why,  he  had  sworn  eternal  war 
against  him  and  his  whole  blood  (and,  blast  him,  he  began  the 
world  and  the  life  of  a  man  by  shedding  it)  ;  and  he  would  be 
curst  if  he  ever  let  slip  an  opportunity  to  do  him  a  mischief." 

No  one  presumed  to  debate  a  question  already  decided  by  Cap- 
tain Hellcat,  and,  accordingly,  it  was  resolved  the  Querida  should 
be  his  ;  upon  which  he  magnificently  promised,  as  soon  as  the 
prize  was  secured,  the  victory  should  be  celebrated  by  a  carouse, 
and  they  should  all,  in  his  own  phrase,  "  get  as  drunk  as  em- 
perors." 

As  the  intended  victim  was  steering  the  same  course  with  the 
Viper,  nothing  more  was  done  with  the  latter,  after  preparing  the 
guns  (of  which  we  had  now  two  twelve-pounders,  taken  from  a 


326  ADVENTURES     OF 

prize,  besides  long-torn)  and  other  weapons,  but  to  shorten  sail  a 
little,  so  as  to  let  the  Querida  gradually  overtake  us — which,  by 
and  by,  she  did,  not  seeming  to  have  any  suspicion  of  our  being 
anything  more  than  honest  British  traders  (for  we  had  an  English 
flag  at  the  mast-head) ;  and  about  an  hour  before  nightfall  she 
had  come  so  nigh  that  Brown  was  able,  after  firing  a  broadside, 
that  was  meant  not  so  much  to  injure  the  vessel  as  to  strike  a 
panic  into  her  crew,  to  run  her  aboard  and  grapple  with  her  ;  after 
which  her  capture  was  soon  effected  by  boarding.  It  is  true,  her 
crew,  who  were  many  of  them  Americans,  that  had  slapped  in 
her  at  Philadelphia,  though  taken  completely  by  surprise,  made  a 
gallant  effort  at  resistance,  firing  off  one  of  her  guns,  as  we  closed 
with  her,  by  which  several  of  our  men  were  torn  to  pieces,  and 
then,  when  the  latter  were  leaping  on  board,  delivering  a  volley  of 
muskets  and  pistols,  which  they  had  hastily  caught  up  ;  but  they 
were  but  fifteen  or  sixteen  in  number  ;  their  captain,  from  whom 
they  derived  their  courage,  was  cut  down  at  the  first  flash  of  a 
cutlass,  and  it  was  madness  to  oppose  such  an  overpowering  force 
as  was  arrayed  against  them.  Some  threw  down  their  arms  and 
ran  below,  to  gain  a  temporary  and  unavailing  concealment  ;  while 
others  begged  for  quarter,  which  was  refused  them.  In  five  min- 
utes the  Querida  was  a  prize,  and  Hellcat  her  master. 

During  these  brief  moments,  as  well  as  for  hours  before,  I  had  re- 
mained on  the  deck  of  the  Viper,  expecting  and  then  witnessing 
a  spectacle  which  I  had  always  before  been  happy  to  shun — the 
sight  of  the  murderous  conflict.  Never  before  had  I  anticipated 
an  engagement,  save  with  grief  and  horror  ;  but  on  this  occasion 
1  looked  forward  to  the  attack  with  an  eager  impatience  as  great 
as  that  of  the  veriest  pirate  on  board.  Alas  !  I  hoped  that  the 
pirates  were,  after  all,  deceived  —  that  the  Querida  was  well 
armed,  and  actually  in  search  of  us,  and  that  the  onset  of  the 
Viper  would  be  the  signal  only  for  her  own  capture.  I  fancied, 
when  she  came  so  nigh  that  I  could  almost  count  the  men  on  her 
deck,  that  she  had  craftily  concealed,  like  the  Viper,  the  over- 
powering numbers  of  her  crew,  to  lure  the  pirates  more  surely  to 
their  doom  ;  and,  even  when  the  latter  were  boarding  her,  I  looked 
to  see  them  suddenly  leaping  out  to  overmaster  the  assailants. 

The  fall  and  flight  of  her  vanquished  defenders,  and  the  rush 
of  the  pirates,  some  into  the  cabin,  others  into  the  forecastle  and 
hold,  after  the  miserable  survivors,  dispelled  the  illusion,  and  I 


ROBIN    DAY.  327 

covered  my  eyes  with  my  hands,  that  I  might  see  no  more  of  the 
scene  of  butchery. 

At  that  moment,  there  came  from  the  Querida  the  shrieks  of 
women — the  cries  of  several  female  voices,  one  of  which  srnote 
like  the  peal  of  my  own  death-bell  upon  my  ear.  I  started  up, 
and  looked  wildly  to  the  Querida,  frqrn  whose  cabin  issued  several 
of  the  pirates,  one  of  them  dragging  with  him  a  man — a  Catholic 
priest — who,  with  looks  of  terror,  extended  a  crucifix  above  his 
head,  as  if  with  that  symbol  of  divine  mercy  to  entreat  the  mercy 
of  man,  the  pity  of  the  slayers  around  him  ;  another  hauling 
along  a  woman,  in  whom  I  immediately  recognized  the  Casera  or 
housekeeper  of  Colonel  Aubrey  ;  and,  a  third,  the  lieutenant 
Diablillo,  dragging — Oh,  my  God  !  it  was  Isabel  herself  ! 

I  leaped — I  forgot  then  the  abjectness  and  pusillanimity  of 
spirit  to  which  despair  had  reduced  me — I  leaped  from  the 
schooner  into  the  brig,  and  dared  to  seize  the  bulky  Diablillo  by 
the  arm,  with  the  frantic  cry,  "  Villain,  unhand  the  lady  !"  when 
my  puny  heroism  was  rewarded  by  a  buffet  from  his  Herculean 
fist,  by  which  I  was  thrown  bleeding  to  the  deck ;  while,  with  the 
other,  he  grasped  the  shrieking  Isabel,  exclaiming  with  exultation, 
"  Fuego  de  Dios !  let  others  take  what  they  want,  here  is  my 
share  of  the  plunder  !" 

"  Yours,  you  blasted  jackanapes?"  roared  Captain  Hellcat, 
who  made  his  appearance  from  some  other  part  of  the  vessel,  and 
gave  a  snatch  at  the  lieutenant's  prize  :  "  take  the  granny  and 
the  nigger  gals,  if  you  want;  but,  d — n  my  blood,  this  prize  falls 
to  your  master." 

"You  shall  have  my  blood  first,"  cried  the  lieutenant;  who, 
suddenly  letting  go  his  hold  of  the  wretched  Isabel,  and  calling, 
with  the  rancor  of  long  concealed  envy  or  hatred,  "  Let  every 
Spaniard  stand  by  me,  and  down  with  the  American  tyrant !" 
attacked  Hellcat  with  his  cutlass;  while  Hellcat,  nothing  loth, 
crying,  "  Let  every  man  stand  by  and  see  the  end  of  a  mutineer  !" 
engaged  his  rebellious  lieutenant  with  equal  strength  and  superior 
skill,  and  at  the  third  blow  brought  him  to  the  deck,  with  his  skull 
cloven  to  the  eyes.  The  Spanish  pirates,  who  composed  nine- 
tenths  of  the  whole  crew,  were  perhaps  willing  enough  to  side 
with  Diablillo,  and  put  down  their  foreign  master,  but  they 
paused  to  await  the  result  of  the  conflict;  and  the  moment  it  ter- 
minated they  returned  to  their  allegiance,  with  loud  cries  of 
"  Captain  Hellcat  forever  !  and  down  with  all  traitors  !" 


328  ADVENTURES    OF 


CHAPTER    LIX 

Robin  Day  adopts  a  desperate  resolution,  and  escapes  from    the 
pirates,  with  the  beautiful  Isabel  /  and  what  fell  out  thereupon. 

IN  the  meanwhile,  Isabel,  who  caught  sight  of  me  rising  from 
the  deck,  and  grasping  for  a  weapon,  with  which,  in  the  madness 
of  the  moment,  I  was  determined  to  strike  her  ravisher  to  the 
heart,  flung  herself,  the  instant  he  let  her  go,  into  my  arms,  wildly 
calling  upon  me  to  kill  her.  "  Kill  me — stab  me  to  the  heart!  Oh, 
God  !  you  can  do  nothing  else  !  Kill  me,  and  I  will  die  blessing 
you  !  "  But  Brown,  turning  from  the  corpse  of  his  lieutenant, 
tore  her  from  my  grasp,  telling  her,  with  brutal  jocularity,  "  he 

was  the  man  to  be  hugged,  d — n  his  blood  ; "  and .  But  I 

heard  nothing  but  the  shrieks  of  Isabel,  whom,  despite  her  fren- 
zied struggles,  grinning  with  triumph  and  complacency,  he  folded 
in  his  blood-stained  arms. 

Where  was  the  courage  which,  but  a  moment  before,  would 
have  armed  me  for  a  contest  with — for  my  death  from — Diablillo  ? 
I  fell  upon  my  knees,  and  with  the  tone  of  a  slave  begged  the 
heartless  caitiff,  "  for  the  sake  of  the  mother  that  bore  him,  to  do 
the  lady  no  harm.  Her  father  is  rich,"  I  cried  ;  "  he  will  ransom 
her  with  his  fortune  ! " 

"Yes,  yes,"  cried  the  poor  priest,  the  chaplain  whom  I  had  seen 
at  the  Intendent's  table,  and  who,  displaying  a  terror  but  little  be- 
coming one  of  his  holy  profession,  caught  at  the  prospect  of  re- 
lief ;  "  as  you  are  Christian  men,"  he  exclaimed  piteously,  "  do 
us  no  harm — do  her  no  harm.  Her  father  is  rich  and  powerful  ; 
he  will  ransom  us — he  will  ransom  her.  Santos  Santisimos  ! 
Deus  mei!  "  And  here  he  fell  to  praying,  while  the  casera  sobbed 
from  a  distance,  stretching  her  hands  towards  her  young  mistress, 
whom,  perhaps,  she  hnd  nursed  in  infancy,  "Oh,  mi  nina,  minina 
— my  child,  my  child  !  " 

"A  priest,  d — n  my  blood  !  "  cried  Hellcat,  looking  admiringly 
upon  the  chaplain.  "  Why,  then,  split  me,  give  us  a  bit  of  your 


ROBIN    DAY.  329 

lingo — say  the  sarvice,  and  splice  me  to  the  senorita;  for  I  wish  I 
may  be  sunk  if  I  won't  marry  her." 

"  Ransom !  ransom  !  "  interrupted  many  of  the  Spaniards,  who 
were  evidently  better  pleased  with  the  idea  of  a  prize  in  money, 
which  could  be  divided  in  shares  among  themselves,  than  one  that 
must  fall  to  the  lot  of  their  captain  only.  "  The  Intendent  is  rich, 
the  girl  is  his  only  child.  Ransom,  ransom  !  " 

"Ay,  ay,"  quoth  Brown  ;  "  but,  strike  my  topsails,  I'll  marry 
her  first,  and  ransom  her  afterwards.  For,  d'ye  see,  sink  me, 
she'll  fetch  no  better  price  to-day  than  to-morrow,  and  no  worse 
to-morrow  than  to-day  ;  and  the  longer  I  keeps  her  the  madder 
her  father  will  be  to  have  her  ;  and  where's  the  difference  whether 
she  goes  back  Mrs.  Hellcat  or  a  plain  senorita.  I  mean  to  marry 
her,  d'ye  see  ;  and  you  shall  all  get  drunk  at  the  wedding." 

And  with  that,  the  miscreant,  still  holding  his  victim  in  his  pow- 
erful grasp,  ordered  the  terrified  priest  to  *  splice  away,  blast  him, 
and  take  care  to  make  short  work  of  it ; "  and  upon  the  latter, 
first  timorously  remonstrating,  and  then  absolutely  refusing  to 
prostitute  the  sacred  forms  of  religion  to  a  purpose  at  once  so 
farcical  and  dreadful,  he  burst  into  a  furious  lage,  and  would  have 
murdered  him  on  the  spot,  but  for  the  interference  of  the  Span- 
iards, to  whom,  though  willing  enough  for  any  common  murder, 
the  killing  of  a  priest  was  an  impiety  not  to  be  thought  of.  The 
spirit  even  of  Hellcat  stooped  before  the  prospect  of  an  universal 
mutiny,  which  he  put  an  end  to  by  yielding  his  bloody  pur- 
pose, pretending  that  he  had  threatened  his  reverence  only  in 
jest. 

"  But;"  said  he,  "  if  his  holiness  won't  marry  me  in  the  way  of 
the  Church,  I'll  marry  myself,  d — n  my  blood,  in  a  way  of  my 
own." 

And  thereupon  he  released  the  wretched  Isabel,  permitting,  or 
rather  ordering,  her  to  go  into  the  cabin,  to  enjoy  a  reprieve  of  a 
few  moments,  which  he  devoted  to  the  yet  unfinished  business  of 
victory.  As  she  staggered  wildly  down  the  companion-w:iy,  I 
succeeded  for  an  instant  in  catching  her  eye,  and  making  her  a 
sign — it  was  but  a  look — meant  to  express  that  I  would  save  her, 
or  perish  with  her;  and,  indeed,  I  had  suddenly  conceived  a  pro- 
ject, which,  though  desperate  and  full  of  difficulties  enough,  I  was 
resolved  to  attempt  in  her  behalf. 

It  had  been  mentioned  by  Diablillo  that  the  Querida  was  to  carry 


330  ADVENTURES     OF 

to  Cuba  invalids  from  the  garrison  of  Pensacola,  andt  wenty 
such  invalids  were  found  below,  where  some  of  them  had  been  lying 
during  the  conflict,  and  whither  others,  that  were  not  so  helpless, 
had  fled,  after  yielding  some  little  assistance  to  the  sailors  in  the 
fight.  In  the  first  rage  of  conflict,  three  or  four  of  these  poor 
wretches  were  slain  by  pirates,  who  followed  them  below  ;  but  the 
murderers  relented  when  they  found  they  were  killing  men  who, 
besides  being  their  own  countrymen,  were  half  dead  with  disease 
already.  And  such  was  the  new-born  humanity  of  the  victors, 
who  had  already  experienced  the  power  of  determination  and 
unanimity,  that  they  defended  the  prisoners  even  from  the  fury  of 
Captain  Hellcat,  who  would  have  tossed  them  all  into  the  sea,  and 
with  difficulty  agreed  to  a  mode  of  disposing  of  them  devised  by 
the  crew,  which,  while  it  saved  their  tender  consciences  the  guilt 
of  murder,  left  it  very  much  to  be  doubted  whether  the  prisoners 
should  ever  survive  to  witness  against  them,  as  Hellcat  swore  they 
would,  in  a  hall  of  justice.  The  brig's  long-boat  was  lowered 
into  the  sea,  and  into  this  the  sick  men  were  sent,  along  with  the 
priest,  and  the  cas  ra,  whose  withered  looks  were  her  safety — if 
being  placed  in  the  long-boat  could  be  called  safety.  Some 
friendly  hands  threw  them  an  oar  or  two,  a  cask  of  water,  and  a 
few  pounds  of  biscuit,  after  which  the  boat  was  cut  loose,  and 
they  were  left  upon  the  wide  sea,  several  hundred  miles,  I  believe, 
from  any  land,  to  perish  of  starvation,  or  to  go  to  the  bottom  at 
the  first  breath  of  the  tempest,  while  the  Viper  and  her  prize,  the 
pirates  being  pretty  equally  divided  between  them,  and  Hellcat 
himself  assuming  command  of  the  latter,  proceeded,  under  every 
sail,  and  in  company,  on  their  course  toward  Cuba. 

And  now  began  the  carouse  which  was  to  celebrate  the  victory. 
The  pirates  called  aloud  for  their  grog,  and  Hellcat,  himself  more 
than  half  intoxicated  already,  called,  as  I  had  expected,  upon  me 
to  mix  it.  My  commission  as  surgeon,  though  it  procured  me  ex- 
emption from  the  perils  and  guilt  of  combat,  did  not  exempt  me 
from  various  other  duties  of  a  degrading  and  even  menial  charac- 
ter, which  Brown  took  a  wanton  pleasure  in  imposing  upon  me; 
among  others,  the  office  of  cup-bearer  and  compounder  of  strong 
drink,  for  he  declared,  with  his  usual  oaths,  "  he  saw  no  reason 
why  I  should  not  mix  liquors  as  well  as  medicines,  one  being  as 
much  and  as  good  physic  as  the  other." 

It  was  upon  this  degrading  office,  which  I  had  submitted  to  Sul- 


ROBIN    DAY.  331 

lenly  but  without  complaint,  that  I  founded  a  sudden  and  despe- 
rate project  to  relieve  the  unhappy  Isabel  ;  I  was  resolved  to  re- 
peat the  experiment  I  had  performed  in  the  household  of  Mr. 
Feverage,  to  drug  the  liquor  of  the  pirates — to  drug  it  deeply,  too 
— I  cared  not  if  it  should  kill  some  of  them,  or,  indeed,  all — and 
then,  at  night,  when  they  were  overcome  with  stupor,  trusting  to 
the  jolly-boat  hanging  upon  the  Querida's  stern,  which  I  thought  I 
could  launch  without  assistance,  with  the  rescued  Isabel  beside  me, 
commit  myself  to  the  waves,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  the  long-boat, 
or,  at  the  worst,  of  remaining  afloat  until  picked  up  by  some  pass- 
ing vessel,  or  thrown  upon  some  hospitable  shore. 

To  the  the  calm  judgment  of  ease  and  security,  such  a  project 
appears  nothing  short  of  madness;  but  there  was  nothing  better  to 
be  done,  and  the  desperateness  of  the  scheme  was  no  objection, 
when  no  other  could  be  attempted,  or  even  imagined ;  and,  above 
all,  where  from  life  having  become  already  burdensome,  I  was  will- 
ing to  lose  it  in  the  endeavor. 

I  had  every  facility  for  the  execution  of  such  an  enterprise — the 
command  of  the  medicine  chest  and  the  key  of  the  spirit-room, 
which  Brown  had  committed  to  my  keeping  two  days  before ;  and 
the  only  real  difficulty  which  I  apprehended  was  to  disguise  the 
taste  of  the  laudanum,  of  which  I  poured  all  there  was  in  the  chest 
into  the  huge  vessel — in  fact,  it  was  a  common  bucket — in  which 
I  mixed  the  infernal  potion — a  mixture  of  rum,  brandy  and  spirits* 
diluted  with  strong  wine,  with  sugar  and  spices  added,  according 
to  instructions  originally  given  me  by  Hellcat  for  brewing 
what  he  called  his  hell  broth ;  but  I  got  over  the  difficulty  by 
throwing  in  a  bottle  of  brandy  bitters,  Hellcat's  favorite  morning 
drink,  and  adding  an  unusual  quantity  of  spices,  by  means  of  which 
the  peculiar  savor  of  the  opium  was  entirely  concealed. 

Nor  was  any  objection  made  to  the  novel  compound,  when  it 
came  to  be  drunk;  on  the  contrary,  Brown,  to  whom,  as  in  duty 
bound,  I  offered  the  first  bowl,  swearing,  upon  recognizing  the 
taste  of  his  bitters,  "  it  was  the  best  physic  I  had  ever  yet  mixed, 
d — n  his  blood,"  and  the  crew  also  agreeing  that  it  was  excellent. 
They  drank,  and  drank  again ;  got  drunk,  danced,  swore,  fought, 
became  stupid,  and  dropped  about  the  deck,  where  they  fell  asleep, 
so  that  in  less  than  two  hours  there  was  not  a  man  of  them  all 
who  was  not  overcome  by  the  drug  and  liquor  together. 

Brown  himself  was  the  first  to  succumb,  being,  from  his  previous 


332  ADVENTURES     OF 

draughts,  in  the  best  state  for  receiving  the  influence  of  the  nar- 
cotic; not  to  say  that  he  drank  more  deeply  than  any  one  else,  ac- 
cording to  his  universal  custom.  He  soon  became  very  much  in- 
toxicated, and  his  countenance  put  on  a  look  of  apoplexy,  when, 
declaring  with  a  brutal  jest,  "he  must  look  after  his  young  wife, 
d — n  his  blood,"  and  bidding  his  followers  drink  a  rouse  to  her 
honor  and  health,  he  staggered  down  the  companion-way  into  the 
cabin,  leaning  upon  my  arm  for  support,  whicli  he  was  obliged  to 
accept,  and  which  I  had  offered  with  the  full  determination  to  stab 
him  with  his  own  knife,  if  that  should  prove  necessary  to  save 
Isabel  from  his  ferocious  clutches. 

But,  happily,  no  such  dreadful  act  was  required  of  me  ;  he 
reeled  from  the  last  step,  and  fell  at  his  length  upon  the  cabin 
floor,  where  he  instantly  dropped  fast  asleep,  snoring,  or  rather 
snorting,  prodigiously. 

I  looked  for  Isabel  ;  she  had  shrunk  to  the  farthest  corner  of 
the  little  but  handsome  cabin,  where  I  saw  her  on  her  knees, 
striving  to  pray,  her  cheeks  as  white  as  snow,  her  lips  livid,  her 
whole  frame  trembling,  her  eyes  wild  with  fright,  and  her  hand 
grasping  a  knife,  which  she  had  picked  up  somewhere  in  the 
cabin,  and  held  as  if  prepared,  at  the  moment  of  extremity,  to- 
bury  it  in  the  breast  of  the  ravisher,  or  her  own. 

"  Fear  nothing,"  I  hastily  whispered,  "  and  be  in  readiness  to 
follow  me  at  a  moment's  warning." 

I  then  immediately  left  the  cabin,  and  returned  among  the 
bacchanals  on  deck,  to  endure  the  scurrilous  jests  upon  HellcatV 
marriage,  as  they  called  it,  and  to  ply  them  still  further  with 
drugged  liquor. 

It  was  now  night,  and  my  heart  was  beating  with  hope.  Every 
moment  added  another  stupefied  sleeper  to  the  list  of  my  victims  ; 
and  I  might  look  the  sooner,  and  the  more  surely  to  the  period  of 
escape.  Before  the  orgies  began,  Hellcat  had  appointed  a  guard 
of  five  men  to  take  care  of  the  brig  during  the  carouse,  ordering 
them,  of  course,  to  keep  sober  the  while  on  pain  of  his  high  dis- 
pleasure. It  was  necessary  to  my  purpose  that  they  should  drink 
like  the  rest,  and,  fortunately,  I  found  it  no  difficult  thing  to 
seduce  them  also  into  the  debauch,  and,  by  and  by,  to  see  four  of 
them  laid  insensible  on  the  deck. 

The  fifth  man  alone,  who  was  at  the  wheel,  though  he  made  no- 
scruples  of  drinking,  resisted  the  influence  of  the  narcotic,  ever* 


ROBIN    DAY.  ?33 

after  every  other  miscreant  was  sound  asleep,  and  I  despaired  of 
bringing  him  under  its  power.  He  was  a  robust  villain,  and  one 
of  the  basest  and  cruelest  spirits  on  board,  and  the  knowledge 
of  his  depravity  nerved  me  to  an  act,  which,  though  now  neces- 
sary to  my  hopes,  I  should  not  otherwise,  perhaps,  have  had  the 
courage  to  attempt.  I  struck  him  down — it  was  a  treacherous 
and  unworthy  blow,  but  I  could  not  help  it— I  struck  him  down 
with  a  handspike,  and  while  he  lay  stunned  and  powerless 
I  bound  his  hands  and  feet  with  a  rope  I  had  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  secured  a  gag  in  his  mouth,  so  that,  although  when  he 
revived,  as  he  presently  did,  he  might  watch  my  proceedings,  he 
could  neither  impede  me  in  my  purpose,  nor  rouse  the  others  by 
his  cries.  I  then  lashed  the  helm,  so  that  the  Querida  might  con- 
tinue her  course  without  interruption  during  the  whole  night. 

All  obstacles  were  now  removed,  and  with  a  beating  heart  I 
completed  my  preparations  by  putting  into  the  boat  a  pair  of  oars, 
(there  was,  it  rejoiced  me  to  find,  a  sail  with  its  mast,  wrapped  np, 
already  lying  in  her,  and  also  a  rudder,  a  compass,  some  provi- 
sions, and  other  things,  which  I  had  laid  down  in  my  mind  as 
necessary  to  provide  against  every  accident,  and  I  was  surprised 
at  the  apparent  coolness  and  deliberation  with  which  I  collected 
them  in  different  parts  of  the  vessel,  and  carried  them  through 
the  sleepers  to  the  boat.  I  satisfied  myself,  by  a  trial  at  the 
pulleys,  that  I  could,  without  much  difficulty,  let  the  boat  down 
into  the  water  by  lowering  a  little  at  the  bow,  and  then  the  stern, 
and  then  at  the  bow  again,  and  so  on,  and  that  there  was  no  danger 
of  her  filling  with  water  in  the  act,  because  the  wind  was  very 
light,  and  the  brig  was  making  headway  but  slowly ;  and  besides, 
the  sea  was  not  rough. 

I  then  stole  back  to  the  cabin,  and  found  its  inmates  as  I  had 
left  them  half  an  hour  before,  Hellcat  lying  in  a  stupor  on  the 
floor,  and  Isabel  on  her  knees,  grasping  the  knife,  arid  looking  as 
if  changed  into  a  statue,  her  eyes  alone  retaining  the  mobility  and 
wild  vivacity  of  life. 

"Fear  nothing,"  I  again  muttered — "come  with  me;  you  are 
saved." 

But  she  only  stared  at  me  more  wildly  than  before,  seeming  to 
be  unconscious  of  my  meaning,  arid  incapable  of  any  exertion  ; 
until,  at  last,  having  given  her  my  hand,  and  assisted  her  to  rise, 
she  suffered  me  to  bear  her  from  the  cabin  to  the  boat,  in  which  I 


334  ADVENTURES    OF 

placed  her  ;  and  then  cautioning  her  not  to  be  alarmed  nor  to  lose 
her  balance,  I  began  to  lower  her  into  the  water,  a  proceeding 
which,  from  the  necessity  of  using  a  great  deal  of  care,  occupied 
me  a  considerable  time.  As  soon  as  the  boat  reached  the  water,  I 
slipped  down  by  the  ropes  ;  and  separating  the  hooks  by  which 
she  was  suspended,  we  were  in  a  moment  floating  free  in  the 
waves,  the  Querida  sailing  slowly  away  from  us.  I  seized  upon 
the  oars,  which  I  had  previously  wrapped  around  with  bits  of  can- 
vass, by  way  of  muffles,  and  rowing  in  the  opposite  direction,  the 
night  being  cloudy  and  very  dark,  had  soon  the  satisfaction  of  los- 
ing sight  both  of  the  Querida  and  her  consort  the  Viper. 

And  now,  dropping  the  oars,  I  resolved  to  spread  the  sail,  and 
take  advantage  of  the  little  breeze  that  was  blowing  to  get  as  far 
from  the  pirates  as  possible  ;  but  before  I  did  so  I  addressed  my- 
self to  Isabel,  who  had  not  yet  spoken  a  word,  and  indeed  seemed 
to  have  had  all  her  powers  of  mind  frozen  within  her,  and  told 
her  to  be  of  good  heart,  for  the  pirates  were  now  out  of  sight. 

"  God  be  praised  ! "  she  exclaimed,  and  fell  upon  her  knees  in 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  sobbing  out  an  incoherent  prayer  ;  which 
she  interrupted  to  cry,  wildly,  "  Are  we  safe  then  ?  and  shall  we 
not  again  fall  into  their  dreadful  hands  ?  " 

"  We  are  safe  for  the  present,"  I  replied  ;  "  and  I  hope,  I  trust 
— nay,  I  can  almost  believe — for  Providence  that  has  set  us  free 
will  not  abandon  us — that  we  shall  never  see  them  more." 

Upon  this,  the  beautiful  girl  threw  herself  into  my  arms,  and 
clasping  me  around  the  neck,  exclaimed  in  tones  of  impassioned 
gratitude  and  devotion — "  Sefior,  I  will  love  you,  and  bey  our 
slave  !  Yes,  yes  !  Save  me  but  again — God  has  sent  you  twice  to 
rescue  me  from  a  villain — save  me  but  again,  and  I  am  yours  for- 
ever ! " 

Alas,  poor  Nanna  !  How  was  it  possible,  at  that  moment,  to  re- 
member that  I  had  once  fancied  I  adored  her  ?  The  beauty  of  the 
fair  Spaniard,  the  romantic  interest  in  which  I  had  won  a  privilege 
to  treasure  her  memory,  the  feelings  she  had  so  evidently  cherished 
in  my  favor,  at  Pensacola,  under  her  father's  eyes,  had  more  than 
half  turned  my  heart  and  brain  already  :  and  it  needed  scarcely 
so  devoted  a  proof  of  her  regard  to  seal  me  to  the  slavery  of  af- 
fection she  so  wildly  offered.  "I  will  save  you  or  die,"  I  cried, 
folding  her  in  my  arms. 

"  I  will  die  with   you — or  live  to  love  you  forever  !  "  she  mur- 


ROBIN    DAY.  335 

mured  in  return  :  and  there,  upon  the  wild  sea,  in  the  midst  of 
peril  and  distress,  we  plighted  our  faith  with  equal  fervor  and  art- 
lessness,  and  exchanged  our  vows  of  eternal  affection.  With  all 
the  misery  of  fear  and  degradation  that  had  lately  borne  me  to 
the  earth  ;  with  all  the  anxieties  and  doubts,  the  apprehensions  of 
waves,  and  tempests,  and  pirates,  which,  however  I  might  conceal 
them  from  Isabel,  I  could  not  but  entertain,  I  felt,  in  that  mo- 
ment, the  thrill  of  happiness,  the  exquisite  elation  that  sublimes 
the  lover  beyond  the  low  ambition  and  the  pride  of  kings. 


336  ADVENTURES    OP 


CHAPTER    LX. 

TJie  voyage  in  the  jolly-boat ;   in   which  Robin    Day  makes  an 
interesting  and  surprising  discovery. 

BUT  the  maid  of  my  love  was  to  be  saved — she  was  to  be 
borne,  before  day,  long  beyond  the  view,  and,  if  possible,  the 
reach  of  the  pirates.  I  shipped  the  rudder,  stepped  the  mast,  and 
spread  the  little  sail,  of  the  management  of  which  I  had  but  little, 
if  indeed,  any  knowledge  ;  and  the  gentle  breeze  bore  us  softly 
onwards  in  a  direction  which  I  judged  or  hoped  would  be  most 
likely  to  bring  us  by  morning  in  sight  of  the  long-boat  ;  which 
gained,  I  reckoned  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  padre,  or  the  counsels  of 
the  soldiers,  to  determine  the  best  steps  to  be  taken  to  secure  the 
safety  of  us  all.  It  was  in  deciding  upon  the  direction  I  must 
steer  to  find  the  invalids,  I  discovered  that  the  compass  which  I 
had  taken,  though  it  might  prove  an  excellent  guide  by  day,  was 
but  an  indifferent  one  by  night,  when  it  was  impossible  to  see  it. 
But  I  was  happy  enough  to  get  an  occasional  glimpse  at  the  north 
star,  by  which  I  laid  and  maintained  my  course  as  well  as  I  could. 

As  soon  as  the  sail  was  set,  I  took  my  Feat  at  the  tiller  ;  and 
there,  with  my  dear  Isabel  at  my  side,  maintained  it  through  the 
best  part  of  the  night,  having  nothing  to  do  but  to  steer,  to  en- 
courage her  spirits,  to  repeat  my  vows  of  love,  and  to  enter  into 
mutual  explanations  of  the  extraordinary  circumstances  by  which 
we  had  been  thus  thrown  together  upon  the  solitary  sea.  I  told 
her  the  story  of  my  flight  from  the  fortress  ;  and  she  sobbed  with 
joy  to  find  it  had  been  compulsory;  that  I  had  not  voluntarily 
accompanied  the  detestable  Brown. 

"I  told  them  so,"  said  the  ardent  girl;  "I  told  my  father  you 
cquld  never  have  united  in  any  enterprise  with  the  wretch  from 
whom  you  had  saved  me,  and  whom,  therefore,  you  must  hate  as 
much  as  I  did.  But  he  was  angry  with  me,  and  because  you  had 
pretended  not  to  know  the  man  when  brought  before  him — because 
you  did  not  immediately  expose  and  denounce  him.  Ah!  why  did 


KOBIN    DAY.  337 

you  not  so  ?     If  you  loved  me,  why  did  you  not  say  to  my  father 
'This  is  the  wretch  who  assailed  my  Isabel.'" 

I  replied  that  my  reasons  were,  first,  the  fear  of  being  made  to 
appear  as  his  accomplice  in  the  burglary;  that  was  a  foolish  fear, 
but  the  surprise  and  confusion  I  was  in  all  the  time  prevented  my 
thinking  so;  and,  in  the  second  place,  because,  notwithstanding 
my  many  reasons  for  hating  Brown,  he  had  actually  saved  my 
life,  and  endangered  his  own  in  doing  so,  among  the  Indians;  and 
I  therefore  could  not,  without  base  ingratitude,  have  denounced 
him,  when  the  denunciation  would  most  certainly  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  severest  punishment. 

This  matter  explained  (and  the  beautiful  girl  accepted  my  ex- 
cuses), I  proceeded  to  relate  the  remainder  of  my  adventures  among 
the  pirates  up  to  the  moment  in  which  a  cruel  destiny  had  brought 
her  into  their  hands.  1  then  requested  to  know  what  causes  had: 
brought  her  to  sea  in  her  unfortunate  namesake,  the  Querida. 

"Alas,"  she  replied,  again  throwing  her  arms  around  my  neck, 
and  sobbing  on  my  bosom,  "  you  are  the  cause — or  rather,  I  am 
myself  the  cause ;  for  it  was  not  your  fault  if  I  loved  you.  My  father 
is  good  and  honorable,  but  proud,  suspicious,  quick  in  his  anger, 
and  stern  in  his  resolutions;  and  he  saw — indeed,  I  did  -not  know 
it  myself — that  I  was  more  than  grateful  for  the  service  you  had! 
done  me  at  Philadelphia;  and  then  I  had  not  told  him  all,  and  he 
thought  I  had  deceived  him;  and,  besides,  appearances  were 
against  you,  and  he  was  angry  I  should  think  of  one  whom  he 
thought  badly  of.  But  he  will  think  better  of  you,  mi  querido" 
she  sobbed,  "  when  we  go  back  to  him  again,  and  I  tell  him  how 
you  have  saved  me  a  second  time." 

After  these  preliminary  expressions  she  gave  me  an  account  of 
the  events  that  had  followed,  and  some  that  preceded  my  flight 
from  Pensacola. 

As  soon  (after  the  Intendent  had  sent  me  off  to  the  fortress) 
as  his  angry  reproaches  had  allowed  Isabel  an  opportunity  to  speak 
in  my  defense,  she  acquainted  him  with  those  particulars  of  my 
Btory  which  I  had  related  to  her,  explaining  the  true  nature  of  my 
connection  with  Hellcat  in  the  burglary;  and  by-and-by  Captain 
Dicky,  who  presently  made  his  appearance,  and  was  called  upon  to 
speak  on  the  subject,  confirmed  the  account  by  telling  my  whole 
story  up  to  the  point  of  my  capture  by  the  Indians,  with  which  I 
had  made  him  well  acquainted;  and,  as  he  did  me  the  honor  to 


338  ADVENTURES    OF 

say,  that,  "  although  he  considered  me  a  very  big  goose,  and  es- 
pecially too  big  one  for  a  soldier,  yet  he  would  stand  sponsor  for 
my  honor  and.  integrity  against  the  whole  world,"  Colonel  Aubrey 
was  at  last  brought  to  believe  his  opinion  had  done  me  injustice; 
to  repair  which  he  dispatched  a  messenger  to  bring  me  from  the 
fort  to  his  house  again.  The  messenger  arrived  just  fifteen  min- 
utes too  late;  but  he  discovered  the  flight  of  the  prisoners  and 
gave  the  alarm;  the  forts  were  ordered  to  fire  upon  us  to  bring  us 
to;  which  failing,  the  Querida  was  hastily  despatched  after  us, 
and,  as  has  been  seen,  to  no  other  purpose  than  to  witness  at  a 
distance  the  murderous  attack  upon  the  Moro,  which  she  was  not 
able  to  prevent. 

My  flight  with  Brown  (which  none  but  the  warm-hearted  Isabel 
could  believe  involuntary),  and,  worse  than  all,  the  act  of  piracy 
that  so  immediately  succeeded  it,  had  the  natural  effect  of  de- 
stroying every  favorable  impression  in  my  behalf  that  had  been 
made  in  Colonel  Aubrey's  mind  ;  and  the  attempt  of  Isabel  to  ad- 
vocate my  cause  only  excited  him  to  deeper  indignation  at  the  un- 
worthy perversity  of  the  maid,  who  could  bestow  her  regard  upon 
a  wretch  so  degraded  and  abandoned  as  I.  And  in  this  feeling,  a 
week  after  he  placed  her  in  the  Querida,  now  ready  for  her  voyage 
to  the  Havana,  under  the  charge  of  the  reverend  padre,  to  be 
consigned  to  a  convent  until  sufficiently  punished  for  or  cured  of 
her  romantic  fancy. 

I  expressed  my  surprise  that  Colonel  Aubrey,  with  all  his  anger, 
should  have  been  willing  to  expose  her  in  a  vessel  so  insufficiently 
armed,  with  the  full  knowledge  that  a  pirate  like  Hellcat  was  now 
ranging  the  Gulf  ;  but  she  replied  that  was  an  apprehension  that 
had  never  entered  his  mind.  No  one  doubted  but  that  the  despe- 
rado had  hastened  to  join  the  outlaws  at  Barrataria  Bay,  and  was, 
therefore,  for  the  time  at  least,  out  of  harm's  way,  and,  besides, 
the  Querida  was  considered  very  well  armed  and  manned  ;  and, 
Toeing  also  a  fast  vessel,  she  might  have  beaten  the  corsair  off,  or 
escaped  by  superior  sailing,  had  her  crew  been  soon  enough  aware 
of  the  character  of  the  Viper. 

These  explanations,  with  many  a  vow  repeated  over  and  over 
again  with  a  fervor  and  tenderness  which  our  desolate  situation 
both  prompted  and  excused,  occupied  us  through  half  the  night  ; 
during  which  our  little  bark  skimmed  her  way  easily  and  safely 
along  the  sea  ;  when,  on  a  sudden,  a  gust  swept  over  us,  whipped 


ROBIN    DAY.  33  & 

the  mast  out  of  its  step,  and  blew  it  with  the  sail  entirely  away, 
by  which  calamity  we  were  doubtless  saved  from  being  instantly 
capsized,  though  we  were  left  without  any  other  assistance  than 
the  oars  to  help  us  along. 

To  the  oars,  therefore,  I  betook  me,  as  soon  as  the  gust  had 
passed  by,  and  I  plied  them  diligently  until  morning,  at  which  pe- 
riod I  looked  eagerly  around  to  see  if  the  Viper  was  yet  in  sight ; 
but  she  had  vanished,  with  her  prize.  I  then  looked  as  eagerly  for 
the  long-boat,  but  no  long-boat  was  to  be  seen;  the  little  jolly-boat 
and  ourselves  were  the  only  objects  that  broke  the  wide-spread  mo- 
notony and  solitude  of  the  sea. 

My  heart  sunk,  but  I  concealed  my  fears  from  Isabel,  and  plied 
the  oars  again,  although  well-nigh  exhausted,  until  another  gust 
swept  the  waves,  by  which  I  suffered  the  further  misfortune  of 
losing  one  of  the  oars,  which  was  broken  in  my  unskillful  hands. 
Even  the  greatness  of  this  calamity  I  disguised  from  Isabel,  by 
assuring  her  I  could  use  the  remaining  oar  as  a  scull,  and  get  along 
nearly  as  fast  with  it  as  with  two.  But  my  pride,  or  tender  solici- 
tude to  keep  Isabel  from  alarm,  could  hold  me  no  longer  against 
a  discovery  I  now  made,  which  was,  that  with  all  my  pains  to 
gather  into  the  boat  everything  I  could  think  of  that  could  be  ser- 
viceable to  us  on  our  voyage,  I  had  forgotten  the  greatest  neces- 
sary of  all  :  bread  and  meat  there  were  in  abundance,  but,  ah  me! 
not  a  single  drop  of  water. 

"  But  we  shall  soon  find  the  long-boat,"  said  Isabel,  with  equal 
simplicity  and  confidence  in  my  nautical  abilities  ;  "  and  then  we 
shall  have  water  enough." 

Alas  !  I  had  now  given  up  all  hope  of  finding  the  long-boat  ;  my 
only  trust  was  that  Providence  would  direct  some  vessel  in  our 
way,  that  should  pick  us  up.  And  with  this  forlorn  expectation  I 
was  obliged  to  acquaint  Isabel,  when,  long  after  mid-day,  she 
began  to  express  wonder  at  the  non-appearance  of  the  long-boat, 
asking  me  if  I  did  not  think  we  should  find  it. 

Upon  being  made  aware  of  our  truly  unhappy  situation,  she 
became  greatly  agitated  and  terrified,  now  throwing  herself  into 
my  arms  and  telling  me  she  would  die  with  me,  now  dropping  upon 
her  knees  and  offering  such  wild  and  piteous  supplications  to 
Heaven  as  drew  the  tears  from  my  eyes  ;  and  then  springing  to 
me  again,  and  striving  to  comfort  me  with  assurances  that  she 
was  not  afraid,  that  she  was  not  thirsty,  and  would  not  be,  and 


-340  ADVENTURES    OF 

then  again  returning  to  her  prayers.  I  did  and  said  all  I  could 
to  reassure  her,  and  by  and  by  she  recovered  her  composure 
somewhat  ;  and,  to  fortify  her  spirits  still  further,  she  drew  from 
her  bosorn  a  rosary,  which  she  began  to  tell,  like  a  good  Catholic, 
and  doubtless  would  have  continued  to  do  so,  until  she  had  gone 
through  the  whole  'circle  of  beads,  had  I  not  been  suddenly  im- 
pelled to  interrupt  her. 

I  have  already  observed  that  I  was  struck,  in  the  portrait  of  the 
Spanish  gentleman,  the  brother  of  Colonel  Aubrey,  with  a  rosary 
worn  around  his  neck,  because  of  a  resemblance  which  I  saw  or 
fancied  in  the  beads  to  those  which  my  patron  Dr.  Howard  had 
obtained  from  Mother  Moll  and  preserved  for  me  with  great  care, 
thinking  they  might,  at  some  period,  contribute  to  unravel  the 
mystery  of  my  birth  and  parentage.  The  beads  which  I  now  saw 
in  the  hands  of  Isabel  were  identical  with  those  in  the  portrait  ; 
and  they  were,  as  I  could  see,  identical  with  my  own,  save  that 
the  great  central  bead  or  cross  in  Isabel's  rosary  was  richly  stud- 
ded with  gold  and  gems,  of  which  the  cross  in  mine  was  destitute  ; 
although  there  were  cavities  on  its  surface  in  which  such  might 
have  once  existed. 

The  coincidence  was  remarkable,  as  the  beads  were  of  a  singular 
kind  of  wood,  and  of  strange  fashion  and  carving  ;  and  it  was  to 
me  so  much  the  greater  and  more  interesting,  as,  to  my  awakened 
fancy,  it  seemed  to  foreshadow  a  connection  in  reality  between  my 
fate  and  that  of  the  beautiful  being  to  whom  I  had  just  sworn 
eternal  attachment.  My  brain  teemed  with  sudden  recollections 
of  the  foundered  schooner  and  the  mysterious  fate  of  her  exiled 
passengers  ;  and,  moved  by  an  irresistible  impulse,  I  caught  the 
.rosary  from  Isabel's  hands,  exclaiming,  as  well  as  my  great  agita- 
tion would  permit  me,  "  These  beads,  Isabel  ! — they  belonged  to  the 
original  of  the  picture — your  father's  brother,  who  was  lost  in  that 
schooner  of  which  Brown  was  the  mate,  and  of  which  Colonel 
Aubrey  spoke  with  Brown  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Isabel,  surprised  out  of  both  devotion  and  fear 
by  the  interruption,  the  question,  and,  above  all,  by  my  disturbed 
looks. 

"  And  there  was  a  fellow  to  it  ?  "  E  cried — "  another  similar 
rosary,  of  the  same  strange  wood  and  fashioning  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  with  a  sigh  ;  "  it  was  on  the  neck  of  little 
Juan."  How  my  heart  leaped  at  the  words  !  "  They  were  holy 


ROBIN    DAY.  341 

beads  from  Jerusalem,  consecrated  on  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord  ; 
and — but  if  you  are  not  a  Christain — that  is,  not  a  Catholic — you 
will  smile  at  such  things  ;  but  we  held  them  as  a  kind  of  talisman 
because  of  their  being  consecrated  on  the  tomb  of  the  Redeemer. 
But,  alas  !  they  have  proved  no  talisman  to  us  yet !" 

"  And  you  will  know  that  other,  its  fellow  ?"  I  cried,  fumbling 
for  the  beads,  which  I  had  long  since  tied  round  my  neck  for 
safety,  because  my  patron  Dr.  Howard  had  so  earnestly  charged 
me  to  preserve  them,  though  I  held  them  myself  in  so  little  estimation 
that  it  was  seldom  I  ever  thought  of  them.  "  You  will  know  it  ?" 
I  cried,  loosening  the  string  and  putting  the  beads  into  her  hand  ; 
"the  jewels  are  gone,  but  are  not  the  beads  the  same  ?" 

At  the  sight  of  them,  Isabel's  agitation  became  nearly  as  great 
as  my  own ;  she  gave  me  a  look  full  of  wild  inquriy,  and  then 
taking  her  own  rosary  into  her  hand,  she  faltered  out,  "There  is 
a  way  to  prove  whether  they  are  fellows,"  and  with  that,  twisting 
the  cross  of  the  latter  between  her  lingers,  she  showed  me  what  I 
should  never  before  have  dreamed — that  it  consisted  of  two  pieces 
that  screwed  together  in  the  center,  so  as  to  make  a  little  box,  and 
that  each  piece  contained,  within  the  box,  a  little  miniature,  the 
one  a  likeness  of  Colonel  Aubrey's  brother,  as  he  was  represented 
in  the  portrait,  the  other  the  semblance  of  a  young  and  beautiful 
woman,  somewhat  resembling,  as  I  thought,  the  dear  Isabel  her- 
self. 

"  If  tJds"  said  Isabel,  placing  my  own  between  her  trembling 
fingers — "if  this  be  indeed  the  fellow  it  must  contain  the  same 
portraits." 

As  she  spoke,  the  cross,  which,  from  the  ingenuity  of  its  con- 
struction, neither  I  nor  any  one  else  had  ever  supposed  to  be  any- 
thing but  solid  wood,  parted  in  twain  and  disclosed  the  same  pair 
of  visages  concealed  in  the  little  box. 

"  Dios  mio  /"  cried  Isabel,  starting  up  wildly,  "how  came  you 
by  this  rosary  ?" 

I  could  scarcely  articulate  a  reply  :  "  Seventeen  years  ago,  a 
vessel  from  the  West  Indies  was  wrecked  upon  the  coast  of  New 
Jersey,  and  I,  a  helpless  infant,  the  only  living  thing  on  board, 
was  taken  from  it  by  wreckers." 

"And  ?"  cried  Isabel,  eagerly 

"  And  this  rosary  was  upon  my  neck  !  Oh,  my  dear  Isabel,  it 
must  be  so  !  Nature  herself  stirred  up  the  affection  that  warms' 


342  ADVENTURES    OF 

our  bosoms.  It  must  be  so  ;  that  wreck — I  can  see  it  all  now,  and 
can  almost  prove  it — that  wreck  could  have  been  no  other  than 
the  fatal  schooner,  and  I,  dearest  Isabel — I  am  the  little  Juan  you 
spoke  of,  and  your  cousin." 

"  My  cousin  ?  O  my  God  !"  cried  Isabel,  "  if  it  be  so,  you  are 
my  own  brother  !  We  were  twin-born  together!" 

"  How!"  I  cried,  confounded  by  her  words,  "  and  Colonel  Aubrey, 
your  father." 

"  My  father  in  name  and  affection  only,"  said  Isabel — "  the 
father  of  my  infancy  and  childhood,  whom  1  have  never  called  by 
any  other  name,  who  is,  however,  in  reality,  but  my  uncle,  my 
father's  brother.  My  father,  and  your  father,  if  you  be  Juan, 
perished  in  that  dreadful  schooner,  the  Sally  Ann." 

"  Yes  !"  I  cried,  struck  by  a  sudden  recollection  ;  "  here  is  the  j 
very  name  scratched  upon  the  cross,  though  by  whom  scratched 
I  know  not.  Dr.  Howard  always  thought  it  must  be  the  name  of 
my  mother.  And  now,  too,"  I  added,  "  I  can  understand  the  ex- 
pressions of  Duck,  which  I  thought  the  mere  ravings  of  delirium, 
that  he  could  reward  my  humanity  and  make  my  fortune  by  the 
same  act  that  should  obtain  him  vengeance  on  Brown  ;  for  it  is 
certain — it  was  proved  by  Brown's  own  admissions  before  Colonel 
Aubrey,  when  ignorant  that  Duck  was  in  Pensacola,  and  con- 
firmed by  his  direct  confession  to  me  afterwards,  in  the  fort — that 
Duck  was  actually  on  board  the  Sally  Ann,  and  had  been  his  ac- 
complice in  a  deed  of  villainy  hitherto  unsuspected  ;  for,  Isabel,  I 
know  enough  to  convince  me  that  our  father,  instead  of  being 
drowned  by  the  foundering  of  the  schooner,  was  murdered  by  her 
crew,  and  Brown  at  their  head,  for  his  money." 

"  Yes,"  said  Isabel  ;  "  and  so  thought  my  father — my  uncle 
I  can  scarce  call  him  ;  and  he  was  resolved,  upon  the  arrival  of  a 
brig  of  war  attached  to  the  station,  and  therefore  under  his  com- 
mand, but  then  absent  on  a  cruise,  to  dispatch  her  to  Barrataria 
in  pursuit  of  Brown,  with  orders  to  spare  no  means  to  ensure  his 
capture,  that  his  brother's  death  might  be  fully  avenged.  But 
how  is  this,  my  brother — my  heart  tells  me  I  must  call  you  so  !" 
said  Isabel,  anxiously  :  "  how.is  it  the  schooner  could  have  come 
ashore,  and  you  in  it,  and  yet  my  uncle,  who  had  instituted  in- 
quiries in  America,  should  hear  nothing  of  it  ?" 

"  That,"  I  said,  "  was  easily  accounted  for  ;"  and  informed  her 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  wreck  was,  for  a  period  of  eleven  or  \ 


ROBIN    DAY.  343 

twelve  years,  confined  to  the  wreckers  themselves  ;  and  that,  at 
the  end  of  that  time,  Dr.  Howard  had  in  vain  labored  among  my 
jealous  preservers  to  learn  even  so  much  as  her  name,  or  the  period 
of  the  wreck  ;  which  latter  he  could  only  guess  at  by  forming  his 
own  conclusions  as  to  my  age,  and  coupling  with  them  the  fact 
he  had  learned,  that  I  was  an  infant  too  young  to  speak,  when  I 
came  ashore. 

In  short,  strange  and  wondrous  as  the  circumstances  all  seemed, 
and  imperfect  as  they  were  in  the  chain  of  connection,  they  bore 
with  them  such  convincing  evidence  of  my  identity,  that  neither 
Isabel  nor  I  could  longer  doubt  we  were  brother  and  sister,  the 
twin-born  offspring  of  parents  long  since  passed  away  to  the  world 
of  death.  We  wept  and  embraced,  and  exchanged,  by  a  na- 
tural transition,  the  fervor  of  lovers  for  the  affection  of  brother 
and  sister,  which  a  romantic  casuistry  has  pronounced  to  be  the 
purest  and  heavenliest  of  all  the  bonds  that  connect  the  hearts  of 
man  and  woman. 


344  ADVENTUEES    OP 


CHAPTER    LXI. 

Robin  Day  and  Isabel  are  rescued  from  the  jolly-boat  by  an 
American  schooner,  which  is  taken  by  the  pirates,  and  Robin 
is  again  their  prisoner. 

I  LEARNED  from  Isabel,  what  I  had  in  part  been  informed  of — 
that  my  father,  with  his  younger  brother,  the  present  Intendent, 
had  emigrated  from  South  Carolina  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
being  loyalists,  whom  the  fall  of  the  British  power  in  the  colonies 
reduced  to  ruin.  They  had  entered  the  Spanish  service  in  Cuba, 
where  the  elder  brother  acquired  rank  in  the  army,  and  rose  to 
wealth  by  espousing  a  Spanish  heiress,  my  mother  and  Isabel's, 
but,  in  an  unfortunate  moment,  was  drawn  into  some  treasonable 
project  or  conspiracy  to  subvert  the  Spanish  power  in  the  island. 
The  conspiracy  was  discovered,  and  my  father  escaped  from  the 
officers  appointed  to  arrest  him  only  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  younger  brother,  who,  faithful  throughout  to  the  Govern- 
ment he  served,  yet  ardently  attached  to  my  father,  procured  him 
the  means  of  flight  in  the  fatal  schooner.  One  boat  carried  to  her 
my  father  and  little  Juan — myself — with  a  single  attendant,  and 
such  valuables  as  he  had  time  to  collect ;  another  following,  with 
my  mother  and  sister,  was  intercepted  ;  and  my  father  was  com- 
pelled by  extreme  peril  to  set  sail  alone.  Neither  my  father,  nor 
the  schooner,  nor  any  of  her  crew  were  ever  heard  of  afterwards, 
until  Brown's  sudden  appearance  in  Pensacola.  Grief  for  her 
husband's  fale,  which  had  been  followed  by  the  confiscation  of  his 
estates,  drove  my  mother  to  the  tomb.  Isabel,  a  portionless 
orphan,  was  adopted  by  her  uncle,  whose  own  wife  (for  he  also 
had  married  in  the  island)  died  in  a  few  years,  leaving  him  child- 
less, and  who,  partly  by  purchase,  and  partly  through  the  bounty 
of  the  Government  which  could  thus  reward  his  own  long  and 
faithful  services,  had  effected  the  recovery  of  a  great  part  of 
his  brother's  estates,  which,  with  his  own,  were  destined  to  swell 
the  dowry,  or  inheritance,  of  his  adopted  daughter. 


ROBIN     DAY.  345 

This  discovery,  brought  about  by  a  means  so  simple,  and  at  a 
time  so  perilous,  had  the  happiest  effect  on  the  spirits  of  Isabel, 
who  declared  with  pious  fervor  that  the  Providence  which  had,  in 
so  extraordinary  a  manner,  brought  us  together  and  revealed  the 
secret  of  our  relationship,  could  not  have  done  so  only  to  let  us 
perish  in  each  other's  arms  on  the  broad  deep;  and  her  confidence 
restored  me  in  part  to  mine. 

But,  alas  !  the  night  came  upon  us  and  passed  away  without 
relief,  and  then  another  day  and  night,  and  yet  another  ;  in  short, 
the  third  day  passed  away,  and  the  fourth  night  was  approaching, 
and  we  were  yet  upon  the  sea.  My  poor  Isabel  was  dying  in  my 
arms — dying  of  the  thirst,  which,  to  lessen  the  misery  of  my  self- 
accusing  despair,  she  protested  to  the  last  she  did  not  feel.  At 
that  time  Heaven  sent  us  relief.  A  vessel  drew  in  sight,  ap- 
proached us,  caught  sight  of  us,  dispatched  a  boat  to  our  assist- 
ance, and,  just  as  the  sun  sank  at  last  into  the  ocean,  I  had  the 
inexpressible  happiness  to  find  myself  with  Isabel  in  safety  on 
board  an  American  schooner,  homeward  bound  from  Jamaica, 
where  she  had  been,  under  the  protection  of  a  British  pass,  with  a 
cargo  of  supplies,  which  had  been  converted  into  money.  I  need 
not  inform  the  historic  reader  that  such  passes  were,  in  those  days, 
granted  by  the  British  Admirals  on  the  American  coasts  to  such 
honest  Americans  as  were  willing  for  a  price  to  supply  the  wants 
of  their  own  national  enemies  ;  and  that  there  were  always  to  be 
found  spirits  sordid  enough  to  accept  the  advantages  and  profits 
of  such  a  trade,  until  a  special  Act  of  Congress,  passed  during 
that  very  year,  put  a  sudden  end  to  it. 

It  might  be  inferred  from  such  a  circumstance  that  Captain 
Galley  of  the  Fair  American  (for  such  was  the  name  of  the  com- 
mander and  the  vessel,  of  which  he  was  also  a  part  owner)  was^ 
not  exactly  the  person  to  whom  I  should  have  chosen  to  owe  the 
obligations  of  life,  or  from  whom  the  most  hospitable  or  gener- 
ous treatment  was  to  be  expected.  Yet,  sordid  as  he  might  be,  I 
found  him  not  deficient  in  good  feeling;  and  his  wife,  a  young  wo- 
man whom  he  had  married  at  Jamaica,  and  was  taking  home 
to  America,  displayed  the  warmest  and  kindest  sympathy  for  the 
distresses  of  Isabel,  which  she  immediately  addressed  herself  to 
relieve. 

I  know  not  whether  it  was  from  an  impulse  of  humanity  infused 
into  his  breast  by  his  warm-hearted  wife,  of  whom  he  was  exces- 


346  ADVENTURES    OF 

sively  fond,  or  from  a  coarser  motive  of  gain,  or  from  the  two 
feelings  combined,  that  Captain  Galley,  upon  learning  in  what 
relationship  Isabel  stood  to  the  rich  Governor  of  Pensacola,  began 
to  express  his  regrets  that  that  port  was  so  very  far  out  of  his 
way,  hinting  that,  if  it  were  the  Havana,  from  which,  he  said, 
having  a  fair  wind,  we  were  scarce  distant  twenty-four  hours 
sail,  he  would  not  hesitate  to  carry  her  thither  to  her  friends,  with- 
out asking  of  them  anything  further  in  recompense  than  the  pay- 
ment of  his  expenses.  His  schooner  was  partly  his  own;  he  was 
his  own  insurer;  his  partners  would  not  find  fault  with  him;  it 
would  be  a  pity  to  carry  the  young  lady  so  far  from  her  friends, 
leaving  them  so  long  mourning  for  her  supposed  death. 

Upon  my  informing  Isabel  of  this,  she  eagerly  entreated  that 
he  should  carry  her  to  the  Havana,  where  there  were  many  of 
her  father's  friends  and  her  own,  who  would  recompense  him  for 
his  trouble  and  humanity;  her  father  was  rich,  and  would  think 
no  sum  of  money  too  great  to  reward  the  preserver  and  restorer  of 
his  Isabel. 

Upon  such  assurances,  Galley  immediately  put  up  his  helm  for 
the  Havana,  promising,  if  the  wind  held,  we  should  see  the  harbor 
lights  before  midnight  of  the  ensuing  day. 

But  the  wind  did  not  hold,  being,  in  a  few  hours,  succeeded  by 
calms  and  baffling  breezes,  that  occupied  us  during  two  whole 
days,  at  the  end  of  which  we  were  no  nearer  to  the  Havana  than 
before,  and  with  so  little  prospect  of  reaching  it  that  Captain  Gal- 
ley declared  he  must  give  it  up  and  resume  his  voyage;  a  resolution 
that,  however,  yielded  to  the  supplications  of  Isabel,  and  especially 
to  her  assurances  that  he  should  be  munificently  rewarded  for 
every  moment  of  delay,  for,  notwithstanding  that  he  still  said  he 
desired  nothing  but  his  expenses,  I  could  fancy  he  had  some  secret 
expectations  of  turning  a  pretty  penny  by  his  adventure. 

But  the  Fair  American  was  never  destined  to  convey  us  to  the 
Havana.  That  day,  soon  after  noon,  while  we  were  vainly  strug- 
gling against  a  southeast  wind,  which  was  directly  in  our  teeth,  two 
vessels — a  brig  and  a  schooner — came  in  sight,  and  when  they  had 
approached  us  sufficiently  nigh  to  be  made  out  with  the  glass,  I  was 
struck  with  horror  to  find  they  were  nothing  less  than  the  Viper 
and  her  late  prize  the  Querida. 

Captain  Galley,  whom  I  immediately  informed  of  their  charac- 
ter, was  greatly  alarmed — although  he  had  several  times  before 


ROBIN   DAY.  347 

declared  he  was  not  afraid  of  pirates,  because  he  relied  upon  the 
swiftness  of  his  vessel,  and  had  in  her,  moreover,  a  large  eighteen- 
pound  gun,  with  which  he  thought  he  could  beat  a  single  antag- 
onist off.  But  two  pirates  together,  one  of  them  carrying  a  piece 
as  heavy  as  his  own,  were  enemies  to  awake  the  most  serious  fears; 
,and  these  became  agonized  apprehensions  when,  the  pirates  imme- 
diately giving  chase,  it  was  found,  after  a  little  trial  that  they  were 
actually  gaining  upon  us,  with  every  probability  of  overhauling  us 
before  night. 

Upon  this,  Captain  Galley  asked  me,  with  much  agitation,  if  I 
thought  the  pirates  would  let  him  off,  with  his  life  and  vessel  pro- 
vided he  should  give  them  up  all  his  money,  the  proceeds  of  his 
oargo  ;  and  I  saw  by  this  that  he  already  had  thoughts  of  surren- 
dering to  them.  I  told  him  "  No  ;"  that  I  had  no  doubt  every 
soul  of  us  would  be  murdered  except  the  poor  women,  whom  I 
begged  him  to  remember,  and  for  whose  sake  I  besought  him  to 
defend  the  schooner  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood  ;  assuring  him 
that,  for  my  part,  rather  than  fall  again  into  their  hands,  I  would 
immediately  jump  with  my  sister  into  the  sea,  and  there  perish 
with  her.  If  we  could  but  resist  them  until  night,  we  might  es- 
cape them  in  the  darkness  ;  and  certainly  we  might  keep  them  off 
until  then.  I  begged  him  to  observe  that  the  Viper,  which  proved 
to  be  a  faster  sailer  than  the  Querida,  and  was,  for  that  reason, 
;and  because  she  carried  an  eighteen-pounder  (the  Querida's  guns 
being  light),  our  most  dangerous  enemy,  was  superior  to  us  only  in 
the  numbers  of  her  crew  ;  that  that  superiority  was  of  no  account 
while  she  was  so  far  off  as  to  be  able  to  fight  us  only  with  the 
great  gun,  because  our  crew  of  six  men  (which  was  the  number, 
excluding  ourselves)  was  as  competent  to  the  management  of  our 
piece  of  ordnance  as  thrice  the  number  could  be  ;  and  that  it  was 
not  improper  to  hope  we  might  cripple  her  by  a  lucky  shot,  in 
which  case  we  could  avoid  the  Querida  until  night,  and  thereby 
escape  her  altogether. 

These  representations  had  their  effect  upon  Galley,  as 
well  as  upon  the  crew,  who,  being  driven  into  courage  by 
sheer  desperation,  and  further  fortified  by  a  glass  of  grog, 
that  was  served  round  to  each  man,  swore  they  would 
stand  by  each  other,  their  captain,  their  ship,  and  above  all, 
the  helpless  women  on  board,  to  the  last  moment.  And  they  im- 
mediately began  their  preparations  for  battle  by  bringing  up  shot 


348  ADVENTURES    OF 

and  cartridges  from  below,  and  changing  the  position  of  the  cannon 
from  the  bow  to  the  stern,  where  it  was  soon  in  readiness  for  the 
pursuers.  Some  muskets  and  cutlasses  were  also  collected,  to  arm 
us  against  boarders,  in  case  it  should  be  our  hard  fate  to  be 
brought  to  close  quarters. 

While  the  men  were  engaged  in  these  preliminaries,  the  captain 
took  me  aside  to  assist  him  in  removing  Isabel  and  his  wife  to  a 
place  of  safety — that  is,  out  of  reach  of  the  cannon  shot.  We 
carried  them,  both  half  dead  with  fright,  into  the  lowest  hold, 
where  Galley  knocked  out  the  head  of  an  empty  puncheon,  in 
which  he  placed  them,  having  previously  rolled  it  into  a  dark  nook 
among  the  ballast ;  with  which,  and  pieces  of  rubbish,  he  proceeded 
to  cover  it  up,  so  that  it  might  readily  escape  the  eye  of  a  careless 
searcher.  But  a  moment's  reflection  convinced  me  such  a  device 
offered  but  an  insufficient  protection  against  pirates,  who  were  ac- 
customed to  ransack  every  cranny  and  hole  of  a  captured  vessel  in 
search  of  concealed  valuables.  Besides,  L  the  schooner  should  be 
taken,  the  pirates  would  either  carry  her  to  their  haunts  or  set  fire 
to  her,  in  either  of  which  cases — supposing  the  women  might  es- 
cape immediate  detection — one  of  two  dreadful  calamities  must 
overtake  them.  In  the  one  case,  they  must  sooner  or  later  be  dis- 
covered ;  in  the  other,  they  must  perish  in  the  burning  vessel. 
These  considerations  armed  me  for  a  desperate  project,  which  I 
proposed  to  Captain  Galley,  who  accepted  it  as  the  last  refuge  of 
despair.  We  placed  a  barrel  of  powder,  laying  a  train  from  it  to 
the  cabin  floor  ;  and  we  agreed,  should  the  pirates  succeed  in 
boarding  the  schooner,  that  either  of  us  who  might  be  alive  should 
set  fire  to  the  train  and  blow  up  the  vessel  ;  whereby,  if  we 
destroyed  with  our  own  hands  those  we  would  have  died  to  pro- 
tect, we,  at  the  worst,  only  accelerated  their  death,  while  defending 
them  from  the  possibility  of  a  yet  more  dreadful  fate. 

Nor  was  this  horrible  device  without  another  favorable  effect. 
Captain  Galley,  the  moment  we  returned  upon  deck,  informed  the 
sailors  of  what  he  had  done,  avowing  a  solemn  determination,  the 
moment  he  observed  any  signs  of  cowardice,  or  heard  any  talk  of 
surrendering  among  them,  to  blow  up  the  schooner  with  all  on 
board;  so  that  the  sailors  perceived  they  must  fight  bravely, 
whether  they  would  or  not  ;  and  thereupon  they  called  for  more 
liquor,  and  swore,  one  and  all,  if  they  must  die,  they  would  die 
fighting. 


ROBIN    DAY.  349 

The  contest  now  soon  began,  and  was  opened  by  ourselves  let- 
ting fly  at  the  schooner,  which  was  thought  to  be  within  reach 
of  the  gun,  and  was  approaching  in  her  usual  insidious  way,  al- 
though she  must  have  seen,  from  our  efforts  to  escape,  that  we  un- 
derstood or  suspected  her  character.  Our  first  shot  had  no  other 
effect  than  to  make  her  run  up  a  black  flag  and  display  her  crew, 
which,  though  more  than  half  of  them  were,  as  I  supposed  with  truth, 
on  board  the  Querida,  was  still  pretty  numerous  ;  but,  by  and  by, 
she  brought  the  long  torn  to  bear  upon  us,  and  the  battle  was  be- 
gnu  in  earnest.  At  first,  both  the  vessels  fired  without  doing  any 
injury  to  each  other,  being  too  distant  for  accurate  aim  ;  but  pre- 
sently, as  the  Viper  drew  nearer,  the  shots  began  to  tell,  and  we 
had,  after  a  while,  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  fore- 
mast of  the  Viper  go  tumbling  over  her  side. 

It  was  now  plain  she  could  follow  us  no  longer,  and  we  set  up  a 
shout  of  mingled  joy  and  defiance.  But  alas!  in  the  midst  of  our 
exultation,  she  sent  a  return  ball,  by  which  her  injury  was  avenged 
upon  the  Fair  American,  the  latter  being  almost  as  seriously  crip- 
pled as  herself.  The  consequence  of  this  was,  that,  although  we 
had  no  more  to  fear  from  the  Viper,  whom  we  found,  notwithstand- 
ing our  injury,  we  could  now  outsail,  we  were  brought  within  the 
danger  of  the  Querida,  which  came  bearing  down  upon  us,  assisted 
by  a  change  of  the  wind,  of  which  she  could  reap  all  the  benefit 
and  we  none.  It  is  true  our  eighteen  pounder  gave  us  a  great  ad- 
vantage over  her,  which  Captain  Galley  endeavored  to  make  the 
subject  of  encouragement  to  the  men,  who  were  still  further  ani- 
mated by  the  appearance  of  a  strange  sail,  that  seemed  to  have 
been  attracted  by  the  sound  of  our  firing,  was  evidently  doing  her 
best  to  approach  us,  and  was  pronounced,  while  still  at  a  great  dis- 
tance, a  ship  of  war  by  our  sailors,  who  burst  into  shouts  of  joy 
at  sight  of  her,  resolving,  at  all  extremities,  to  keep  up  the  fight 
until  she  had  arrived  to  our  assistance. 

But  our  courage  was  not  seconded  by  good  fortune.  It  was  in 
vain  we  fired  shot  after  shot  at  the  Querida,  with  the  hope  of 
crippling  her;  several  of  them  struck  her  in  the  hull,  and  even 
killed  some  of  her  men,  but  masts,  spars  and  rigging  all  escaped, 
and,  finally,  opening  her  own  batteries  upon  us,  by  which  half  of 
our  men  were  slain,  she  succeeded  at  last  in  closing  and  grappling 
with  us,  and  then,  with  yells  of  vengeance,  and  Hellcat  himself 


350  ADVENTURES     OF 

at  their  head,  thirty  pirates  leaped  on  board,  and  it  was  all  over 
with  us  in  a  moment. 

Galley,  giving  me  a  look  of  horror  and  despair,  ran  down  into 
the  cabin  to  fire  the  train  A  musket  shot  struck  him  at  the  head 
of  the  companion  way  and  he  fell  headlong  on  the  floor;  but 
gathering  strength  for  an  effort,  he  raised  himself  upon  his  arms, 
and  flashed  a  pistol  on  the  powder.  It  was  soaked  with  his  own 
blood,  and  his  life  and  the  ineffectual  flash  were  extinguished 
together.  I  would  have  rushed  after  him  to  complete  the  de- 
sign, but  it  was  too  late  ;  the  path  was  intercepted,  and  I 
was  surrounded  by  pirates,  from  whom  I  expected  immediate 
death,  being  at  a  single  blow  disarmed  and  wounded,  when 
some  of  them  recognised  me,  and  called  out  my  name;  and  Brown 
himself  saved  me  from  their  vindictive  fury,  though  not  with  a 
purpose  of  mercy. 

"You  shall  feed  the  sharks,  d — n  my  blood  !"  he  cried,  with 
furious  exultation,  taking  me  by  the  throat,  and  demanding 
eagerly,  "where  was  the  girl?"  while,  in  the  same  breath,  he 
ordered  his  men  to  "  look  her  up,"  as  if  taking  it  for  granted 
she  was  concealed  somewhere  in  the  vessel.  I  could  make  but 
one  effort  to  save  her  from  his  brutal  arms.  "  They  will  look  in 
vain,"  I  cried,  "unless  they  look  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  to 
which  your  cruelty  consigned  her." 

"  How  !  drowned  ?"  cried  Brown. 

"Yes,  drowned,"  I  replied;  whereat  he  made  a  furious  blow 
at  me  with  a  cutlass,  from  which  I  was  saved  by  one  of  the 
men  jerking  me  away,  saying,  "  that  was  not  the  way  to  end  a 
deserter  !"  "Ay,  sink  me  to  h — ,  he  shall  die  like  a  dog  !"  said 
Brown,  and  I  was  immediately  dragged  into  the  Querida,  and 
there  secured  by  being  tied  to  one  of  the  guns,  while  the 
pirates  searched  the  Fair  American  for  the  spoils  of  victory. 

But  the  search  was  conducted  in  the  utmost  hurry  and  con- 
fusion. The  strange  sail  was  now  seen  approaching  the  Viper, 
making  demonstrations  of  hostility,  which  alarmed  the  pirates  of 
the  Querida  for  the  safety  of  their  consort,  now  left  far  behind, 
and  perhaps  for  their  own.  A  few  moments  served  to  bring  to 
light  pc>or  Galley's  money,  the  proceeds  of  his  cargo;  a  few 
moments  more,  to  show  they  had,  in  this  lucky  windfall,  secured 
the  chief  profits  of  the  voyage,  with  which  they  hastened  back 
to  their  own  vessel,  leaving  Isabel  and  her  companion  undis- 


KOBIN    DAY.  351 

covered;  and  then  the  Querida,  crowding  on  all  sail,  stood  away 
from  her  prize,  leaving  her,  as  I  anticipated — nay,  as  I  had  hoped — 
in  flames.  As  I  raised  my  head  from  the  gun  to  which  I  was 
tied,  and  perceived  the  fire  running  up  her  rigging  and  seizing 
upon  her  sails,  I  could  thank  God  that  my  sister  had  thus  escaped 
the  malice  of  the  pirates.  But  I  could  not  look  a  second  time 
upon  her  funeral  pile. 

I  dropped  my  head  upon  the  gun,  and  closed  my  eyes,  until 
a  sudden  cannonading  in  the  direction  of  the  Viper,  and  exclama- 
tions of  alarm  from  the  pirates,  awoke  me  to  life  and  the  desire  of 
vengeance.  The  strange  vessel,  which  I  could  now  see  was  a 
large  brig  of  war,  had  overtaken  the  crippled  Viper,  and  was 
pouring  into  her  a  heavy  and  continuous  fire,  which  the  Viper 
returned  manfully  with  her  great  gun,  as  if  relying  upon 
speedy  assistance  from  the  Querida.  But  this  assistance  there 
was  no  one  in  the  Querida  disposed  to  render.  It  was  manifest 
the  brig  was  superior  in  strength  to  both  the  corsairs  together; 
and  I  understood  from  the  expression  of  Hellcat's  crew  that  she 
was  recognised  by  some  of  them  to  be  the  Vengador,  the  Spanish 
brig  of  war  attached  to  the  Pensacola  station — that  very  vessel  of 
which  Isabel  had  spoken  as  designed  by  Colonel  Aubrey  to  be 
sent  in  pursuit  of  the  pirates.  Alas  !  had  she  but  come  a  few 
hours — nay,  but  an  hour  sooner  !  I  looked  back  to  the  Fair 
American;  one  of  her  masts  had  fallen  over  her  side,  and  the 
flames  were  fast  sapping  the  strength  of  the  other. 

I  turned  away,  looking  again  to  the  Viper  ;  the  Vengador  had 
closed  with  her  ;  the  black  flag,  which  had  been,  a  little  before, 
run  up  in  defiance,  was  now  sinking  to  the  deck  ;  she  was  con- 
qured  ;  the  Querida  had  deserted  her,  and  nothing  remained  for 
her  abandoned  crew  but  to  surrender  at  discretion,  or  die  fighting 
upon  their  own  decks. 


35?  ADVENTURES     OF 


CHAPTER  LX'II. 

The  pirates  are  chased  by  the  armed  brig  Vengador,  and,  in  the 
pursuit  both  vessels  are  driven  ashore. 

THE  pirates  of  the  Querida  took  advantage  of  the  fall  of  their 
comrades  to  secure  their  own  escape.  The  night  was  fast  ap- 
proaching and  closing  in  with  the  appearance  of  a  storm  :  a  few 
moments,  and  darkness  must  separate  the  corsair  and  her  too 
powerful  foe.  Yet  before  the  darkness  had  wholly  invested  the 
ocean,  the  Vengador  was  seen  to  leave  her  prize,  and  set  her  sails 
in  pursuit  of  the  Querida. 

But  the  pirates  were  confident  of  escape,  and  they  laughed 
her  hostile  intentions  to  scorn  ;  and  they  turned  to  vent  their  ex- 
asperated feelings,  their  passions,  always  infuriated  by  battle,  and 
now  more  than  usually  excited  by  the  loss  of  the  schooner  and  her 
crew,  upon  me,  their  ready  victim,  guilty  of  the  crime  of  desertion, 
of  attempting  to  poison  them — and,  still  worse,  of  robbing  them 
of  the  rich  ransom  they  expected  to  obtain  for  the  Intendent's. 
daughter  ;  and  they  called  upon  their  captain  to  do  justice  upon 
me,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  sea — that  is,  I  presume  pirate's 
law,  for  I  know  no  other  which  they  acknowledged. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Captain  Brown,  with  his  usual  oaths,  "  I  have 
not  forgotten  him." 

And  with  that  I  was  taken  from  the  gun  and  carried  to  where 
he  stood  on  the  quarter  deck,  expecting  nothing  but  instant  death, 
and  now  indifferent  to  it,  only  that  my  flesh  crept  at  the  thought 
of  the  tortures  with  which  it  might  be  accompanied.  But  the 
fury  had  departed  from  the  capricious  breast  of  Hellcat  ;  he  gave 
me  a  stare  expressive  rather  of  humorous  approbation  than  anger, 
and  then  burst  into  a  horse-laugh,  still  more  strongly  indicative 
of  his  change  of  feelings. 

"Well  done,  d — n  my  blood,  my  skilligallee  !"  he  cried  ;  "and 
so  you've  set  up  for  yourself  at  last,  sink  me  !  poisoned  a  whole 
ship's  company,  captain  and  all — carried  away  my  wife,  and 
drowned  her — robbed  my  honest  hell's  kittens  of  their  money  t 


ROBIN    DAY.  353 

Well,  I'll  be  curst  if  this  isn't  a  touch  of  the  hellcat  in  you,  after 
all,  for  all  I  took  you  for  no  more  than  a  green  gosling  ;  and, 
shiver  me,  but  I  love  you  for  it."  And,  with  that,  he  asked  me, 
with  a  facetious  affectation  of  anger,  that  proved  how  little  he 
really  cared  for  the  crime,  or  for  the  fate  of  Isabel,  what  put  me 
upon  running  away  with  her,  demanding,  however,  with  more 
earnestness,  if  I  had  received  assistance  in  my  project  from  any  of 
his  crew. 

I  was  too  well  acquainted  with  the  brutal  whimsicalities  of  Cap- 
tain Brown's  temper  to  found  any  hope  of  escaping  death  upon 
his  apparent  good  humor.  I  knew  he  could  murder  in  cold  blood, 
as  well  as  in  hot ;  and  I  still  expected  he  would  condemn  me  to- 
death  as  soon  as  he  had  sufficiently  amused  himself  by  examining 
me.  This  assurance,  together  with  despair  of  mind  and  anguish 
of  body  (for  I  had  received  a  wound  from  a  cutlass  on  my  right 
arm,  which  gave  me  inexpressible  pain),  enabled  me  to  answer  his 
questions  with  a  boldness  that  disregarded  his  anger.  I  told  him 
I  had  fled  with  Isabel  to  save  her  from  his  villany ;  that  I  had  poi- 
soned his  drink  to  facilitate  the  design,  indifferent  if  the  drug 
should  have  killed  him,  whom  I  thought  a  monster  too  great  to 
live ;  and  I  was  almost  tempted  to  play  the  part  of  the  Athenian 
Aristogiton,  and  accuse  his  worthiest  followers  as  my  assistants, 
with  the  hope  of  bringing  them  also  to  execution.  But  I  could 
not  die  with  a  lie  of  malice  in  my  mouth,  and  I  therefore  con- 
fessed I  had  effected  my  escape  without  any  assistance  whatever. 

He  then  asked  after  my  adventures  in  the  boat,  and  how  it  was 
my  companion  had  been  drowned,  and  I  saved.  Upon  this  sub- 
ject I  could  now  safely  speak  the  truth,  and  I  felt  a  kind  of  vin- 
dictive triumph  in  admitting  that  I  had  snatched  Isabel  a  third 
time  from  his  grasp,  that  I  had  concealed  her  in  the  schooner,  in 
which  he  had  left  her  to  perish  in  flames,  applied,  perhaps,  by  his 
own  hands. 

Up  to  this  moment,  he  had  laughed  very  heartily  both  at  my 
adventures  and  invectives  ;  but  he  was  furiously  incensed  at  find- 
ing how  grossly  he  had  been  outwitted  and  robbed  of  his  prey, 
thus  brought  again  within  his  grasp,  and  with  a  volley  of  execra- 
tions, and  a  ferocious  aspect,  he  asked  me  "  what  I  expected  would 
come  of  my  dog's  tricks  ?"  and  he  made  a  sign  to  one  of  the 
sailors,  who  threw  a  noosed  rope  round  my  neck,  while  a  second 
one  ran  up  aloft  to  pass  its  other  end  through  a  block  on  the  yard- 
arm.  "  I  expect,"  replied  I,  not  intimidated  by  the  prospect  of  a, 


354  ADVENTURES     OF 

death  so  much  less  cruel  than  any  I  had  expected,  "that  you  will 
murder  me,  as  you  murdered  my  father  before  me." 

".T  murder  your  father,  shiver  my  topsails  !"  cried  Brown,  with 
surprise  ;  "  and  who  was  he  ?" 

"He  was  John  Aubrey,"  I  replied  boldly,  "whom  you  killed  in 
the  schooner  Sally  Ann,  when  I,  a  little  infant,  was  left  alone  in 
her  to  perish." 

The  reader  will  perceive  how  far  my  ingenuity  or  imagination 
supplied  the  gaps  in  that  story  of  grief  and  mystery,  But  Hell- 
cat's countenance  proved  that  I  had  supplied  them  correctly.  He 
looked  confounded,  and  hastily  exclaimed  :  "  That  blasted  Duck  ! 
he  has  been  'peaching  then  ?  " 

"  You  impeached  yourself,"  I  cried,  "  when  you  admitted  both 
that  your  story  to  Colonel  Aubrey  was  false  and  that  you  began 
the  world  by  shedding  the  blood  of  his  family." 

"  And  so  I  did,  d — n  my  heart,"  said  the  hardened  ruffian.  "  I  cut 
his  throat  while  he  was  asleep  in  his  berth,  and  I  should  have 
served  the  baby  the  same  way,  but,  as  soon  as  I  killed  his  father, 
the  blasted  brat  turned  right  up  and  hugged  me.  And  so  I  gave 
him  his  life,  and  was  for  carrying  him  off  in  the  boat,  but  the 
others  said  no  ;  and  so  we  left  him  in  the  schooner,  to  go  down  with 
her.  And,  hang  me  !  now  I  think  of  it,  she  did  go  down,  for  we 
scuttled  her,  and  the  boy  sunk  with  her." 

"  Scuttled  or  not,"  I  replied,  "  the  schooner  drove  ashore  on  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  boy — I  myself — was  taken  alive 
from  her.  And  if  Duck  is  ever  able  to  speak*  again,  he  can  tell 
you  so,  for  he  knows  all  the  circumstances." 

"Duck  be  d — d  !"  said  the  murderer  ;  "  if  you  be  the  boy,  there 
was  a  chain  on  your  neck " 

"A  chain  of  beads,"  said  I ;  "it  is  on  my  neck  still,  with  the 
name  of  Sally  Ann  scratched  on  it." 

"  I  scratched  it  there  myself,"  said  Brown,  "  one  day,  with  a 
jackkriife  ;  and  Aubrey,  he  railed  at  me  for  spoiling  the  trinket. 
But  I  spoil'd  it  more  before  I  was  done  with  it,  for  it  was  stuck 
all  over  with  gold  and  diamonds,  and  I  scraped  them  off,  for 
Where  was  the  use  of  leaving  them,  when  the  beads  were  good 
enough  for  the  boy  without  them  ?  and,  blast  me,  I  sold  them  to 
a  jeweler  for  something  handsome.  And  so  you  are  my  lad  of  the 
Sally  Ann  ?  Curse  me,  but  it  is  a  very  strange  piece  of  busi- 
ness !  " 

And  that  was  all  the  emotion  expressed  by  the  blood-stained 


ROBIN    DAY.  355 

«  -•-••• 

caitiff,  who  spoke  to  me  of  the  murder  of  my  father  without  so 
much  as  a  look  of  shame  or  compunction,  which  in  truth  he  seemed 
to  have  long  lost  the  power  of  feeling.  Yet  some  feeling,  perhaps, 
he  showed  by  giving  over,  as  he  immediately  did,  his  purpose  of 
hanging  me  up  like  a  dog,  and  some  glimmering  suspicion  that 
what  he  had  done  was  not  the  best  thing  in  the  world  to  commend 
him  to  my  friendship  and  gratitude,  he  indicated  by  asking  me 
c  *  what  I  would  do,  if  he  should  cut  me  loose  and  forgive  me  the 
tricks  I  had  played  him." 

"  I  would  kill  you  as  you  killed  my  father  !"  I  cried,  driven  by 
a  feeling  of  vindictive  hatred  which  I  was  neither  able  nor  willing 
to  conceal. 

"In  that  case,"  said  Brown,  laughing  as  if  he  thought  my 
hostility  an  excellent  jest,  "  you  may  just  .lick  the  mainmast  until 
you  are  in  a  better  humor." 

And,  with  that,  he  ordered  his  crew  to  tie  me  to  the  mast,  which 
they  did,  grumbling  at  the  respite,  but  not  daring  to  resist  the 
mandate  of  their  leader.  And  there,  I  may  add,  I  remained  bound 
during  the  whole  of  the  night,  which  had  by  this  time  gathered 
around  us,  so  that  we  could  no  longer  see  the  Vengador  or  her 
prize.  The  Fair  American  had  also  vanished.  I  cast  my  eye  along 
the  horizon  in  search  of  the  light,  which  I  supposed  would  betray 
the  position  of  the  burning  schooner,  but  none  was  to  be  seen, 
and  I  doubted  not  she  had  already  burnt  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
gone,  with  my  poor  sister  and  her  companion,  to  the  bottom. 

The  night  closed  in  very  dark  and  cloudy,  and,  by  and  by,  gusts 
began  to  sweep  the  sea,  increasing  in  frequency  and  force  until 
about  midnight,  when  there  arose  a  furious  storm  from  the  north, 
which  obliged  us  to  lie  to,  the  pirates  being  alarmed  both  at  the 
violence  of  the  winds  and  our  position,  which  was  not  so  far  from 
the  coast  of  Cuba  but  that  we  were  in  some  danger  of  being  blown 
on  shore.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  terrible  storm,  the  sea,  in  a  short 
time,  running  mountains  high,  the  winds  piping  and  howling 
through  the  ropes  and  spars;  and  the  horror  of  our  situation  was 
increased  by  the  pitchy  darkness  that  prevailed  during  the  first 
two  hours  after  midnight,  at  which  the  storm  was  at  its  height, 
and  still  more  by  the  terror  of  the  pirates,  most  of  whom  were 
Spaniards  indifferently  acquainted  with  the  sea,  who  fell  to  invok- 
ing all  the  saints  of  the  calendar  for  assistance  and  protection,  and 
offering  up  vows,  some  to  perform  pilgrimages  to  their  favorite 
shrines,  some  to  make  presents  to  chapels  and  convents,  some  to 


356  ADVENTURES     OF 

fast  so  many  days  in  a  month,  to  say  an  unusual  number  of  prayers, 
to  scourge  themselves  at  certain  stated  periods — in  short,  to 
do  a  great  many  things,  except  to  repent  of  their  sins  and  give  up 
their  lives  of  plunder  and  murder,  none  of  them  whom  I  could 
hear  making  any  promises  on  that  score.  The  only  person  be- 
sides myself,  whom  misery  rendered  indifferent  how  soon  the  storm 
might  overwhelm  us,  that  seemed  to  preserve  his  courage,  was 
Brown,  who  vented  continual  execrations  against  the  pusillanimity 
of  his  men,  by  which  the  safety  of  the  vessel  was  jeoparded,  for 
he  could  scarce  prevail  upon  them  to  perform  the  duties  necessary 
to  their  own  preservation. 

About  two  hours  after  midnight  there  began  to  be  much  thun- 
der, with  extremely  vivid,  and  sometimes  very  long  continued, 
flashes  of  lightning,  in  the  midst  of  which  we  suddenly  descried 
another  vessel  lying  to  in  the  storm  like  ourselves,  and  scarce  half 
a  mile  distant.  It  was,  as  we  soon  saw,  the  Vengador,  which  ac- 
cident, or  an  overruling  fate,  had  brought  after  us  as  accurately 
.and  successfully  as  if  she  had  followed  in  our  wake  by  daylight; 
and,  to  prove  how  furiously  hostile  and  determined  was  the  spirit 
that  governed  her  motives  against  us,  she  no  sooner  caught  sight 
of  us  than  she  began  to  fire  on  us,  taking  advantage  of  the  flashes 
of  lightning  to  aim  her  guns.  There  was  little  danger  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  such  a  cannonade  in  such  a  storm,  but  it  made  a 
terrible  addition  to  the  horrors  of  the  tempest,  the  sound  of  the 
ordnance  contending  with  the  peals  of  thunder,  their  lurid  burst 
of  flame  succeeding  and  rivaling  the  flashes  from  the  clouds;  it 
jseemed  as  if  the  spirits  of  the  air  had  taken  upon  them  visible 
-shapes,  to  wage,  with  more  than  ordinary  din  and  fury,  the  battle 
of  the  elements. 

The  crew  of  the  Yengador  perceived  that  their  fire  was  inef- 
fectual, when,  in  the  eagerness  of  their  animosity,  disregarding 
the  tempest  and  the  dangers  of  such  a  manoeuvre,  they  suddenly 
changed  their  helm  and  bore  toward  us  to  engage  us  nearer  at 
hand,  or,  perhaps,  as  the  pirates  apprehended,  to  run  us  down. 
The  terror  of  such  a  catastrophe  prevailed  over  their  fears  of  the 
storm;  the  Querida's  helm  was  also  turned,  and  the  flight  and  pur-* 
suit  were  immediately  renewed,  continued  for  an  hour  or  more  with 
equal  spirit  and  at  equal  risk,  and  calamitously  terminated  by  both 
vessels  suddenly  going  ashore  upon  a  reef  of  rocks  that  was  seen  too 
late  be  avoided. 


KOBIN    DAY.  357 


CHAPTER    LXIII. 

The  battle  between  the  wrecked  pirates  and  their  wrecked  enemies, 
and  what  happened  therein  to  Robin  Day. 

I  HAVE  no  words  to  express  the  awful  situation  in  which  we 
were  now  placed,  stranded  among  breakers  that  went  roaring  over 
us,  lifting  the  brig  from  one  rock  only  to  dash  her  against  another, 
until  we  were  at  last  wedged  tight  among  them  ;  still  less  am  I  able 
to  describe  the  confusion  and  dismay,  the  prayers  and  shrieks  of 
the  pirates,  some  of  whom  were  washed  overboard  and  drowned, 
whils  others  lashed  themselves  to  different  parts  of  the  vessel  for 
safety. 

Brown  alone  maintained  his  courage,  and  continued  his  oaths  and 
maledictions,  calling  vociferously  loi  help  to  cut  away  the  masts  ; 
which,  at  last,  he  attempted  himself  ;  at  least,  he  began  to  hack 
away  with  an  axe  at  the  shrouds  of  the  mainmast,  to  which  I  was 
still  tied,  with  the  expectation  that  it  would  then  fall  ovei  by  its 
own  weight.  I  called  to  him — for  the  love  01  life  was  not  yet  so 
completely  extinguished  as  I  thought — begging  him  to  release  me 
before  he  cut  away,  lest  I  should  be  killed  by  the  fall  of  the  mast ; 
but  he  replied  only  with  a  horrid  oath  of  disregard  and  indifference, 
and  proceeded  in  his  work.  The  shrouds  were  cut,  and  the  mast 
fell,  but  it  broke  off  above  my  head,  and  I  was  not  hurt  by 
it,  although  injured  by  some  of  the  ropes,  which,  as  it  washed 
overboard,  lashed  violently  against  my  body. 

We  remained  in  this  condition  until  the  dawn  of  day  ;  by  which 
time  the  storm  had  greatly  abated,  although  the  breakers  still  ran 
very  high  ;  and  finding  that  the  land,  which  was  very  high,  rocky 
and  desolate,  was  but  a  mile  off,  and  that  the  brig  was  fast  going 
to  pieces,  the  despairing  crew  listened  to  Brown's  commands,  and 
constructed  hasty  rafts,  which  were  our  only  means  of  reaching 
the  shore,  the  boats  having  been  long  since  stove  or  washed  away. 

Upon  these  perilous  floats,  in  parties  of  five  or  six,  they  launched 
themeselves  among  the  waves,  one  party  after  another ;  and  I 


358  ADVENTURES     OF 

thought  they  would  have  abandoned  me  to  perish  alone  ;  but 
presently  Brown  came  and  cut  me  loose,  saying  I  should  have  as 
good  a  chance  for  my  life  as  another  ;  and  almost  before  I  knew 
what  had  happened  I  found  myself  in  the  surf,  clinging  to  the 
same  raft  on  which  he  had  taken  refuge. 

We  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  with  fourteen  others,  the  only 
survivors  out  of  a  crew  of  thirty -five  or  six  ;  and  we  reached  it  to 
find  a  peril  staring  us  in  the  face  greater  than  we  had  left  behind 
us  on  the  wreck. 

The  Vengador,  whose  disaster,  similar  to  our  own,  we  had  rather 
inferred  than  known,  for  none  had  actually  seen  her  go  ashore, 
had  struck  upon  the  reef  scarce  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant,  where 
she  was  still  lying,  but  derserted  by  her  crew,  who  had  left  her, 
some  on  rafts  like  ourselves,  but  the  greater  number  in  the  long 
boat,  which  had  survived  the  shocks  of  the  night.  In  this  manner 
some  twenty  or  twenty-five  of  them  reached  the  land  at  the  same 
time  with  ourselves ;  and  no  sooner  had  they  done  so,  than,  with  a 
fury  which  the  horrors  of  shipwreck  had  not  quelled,  they  rushed 
upon  the  pirates,  with  such  arms  as  they  had  preserved,  calling  to 
one  another  to  "give  no  quarter,  nor  let  a  dog  of  them  escape." 
Escape,  indeed,  was  impossible  :  we  had  landed  upon  a  little  cove 
scooped  in  a  wall  of  precipices,  which,  on  one  hand,  ran  out  into 
the  sea,  preventing  flight  in  that  direction  ;  while,  on  the  other, 
the  path  was  intercepted  by  the  enemy. 

Flight  was  impossible,  surrender  equally  so  ;  the  pirates  were 
armed  only  with  their  knives,  and  some  few  with  cutlasses,  but 
if  the  enemy  displayed  muskets  and  pistols,  it  scarcely  needed  the 
encouraging  assurance  of  Brown  that  "  no  gun  ever  blew  out  a 
man's  brains  when  full  of  salt  water,"  to  convince  the  desparadoes 
their  enemy  could  boast  no  actual  superiority  over  them  but  in 
numbers. 

Unfortunately  for  the  pirates,  who  prepared  to  meet  the  assail- 
ants with  all  the  rancorous  courage  of  despair,  the  assurance  that 
they  had  little  to  fear  from  the  firearms  was  disproved  by  a  sud- 
den volley  from  six  or  seven  guns,  that  sent  among  us  as  many 
bullets,  by  one  of  which  I  was  struck  down,  without,  at  the  time, 
knowing  that  I  was  hurt  by  it.  I  had  reached  the  shore  benumbed 
and  exhausted,  and  was  scarcely  able  to  stand  erect  ;  and  my 
feebleness  was  increased  by  the  agitation  of  mind  I  was  thrown 
into  by  the  unexpected  prospect  of  deliverance.  I  summoned,  or 


ROBIN    DAT.  '•        359 

endeavored  to  summon,  strength  for  an  effort  which  I  was  re- 
solved to  make  ;  and  I  was  on  the  very  point  of  running  from  the 
pirates  to  their  enemies,  when  I  sank  upon  the  beach,  sick,  giddy, 
and  powerless,  and  attributing  my  fall  only  to  the  impotence  of 
exhaustion. 

My  eyes  closed,  or  my  mind  wandered  for  an  instant :  I  was  re- 
called to  my  senses  by  the  shrill  tones  of  a  well-known  voice  crying 
above  the  roar  of  the  breakers — 

"  Bloody  Volunteers  !  if  there  are  any  of  you  with  the  enemy,  step 
forward  and  join  your  captain  ! " 

It  was  the  voice  of  Dicky  Dare  ;  and  as  I  raised  upon  an  elbow — 
for  I  could  do  no  more — and  looked  around  for  him,  I  beheld  him 
at  the  head  of  the  Vengadores,  marching  among  several  officers 
who  led  them  on  against  the  pirates.  At  the  same  moment  four 
of  the  latter  suddenly  parted  from  their  comrades  and  ran  towards 
the  assailants  ;  they  were  all  that  remained  of  the  Bloody  Volun- 
teers, of  whom  four  others  had  been  drowned  in  the  wreck. 

The  next  moment  the  assailants  came  rushing  on,  charging  the 
pirates  with  their  cutlasses.  The  latter  yielded  to  the  fury  of  the 
attack,  which  was,  indeed,  irresistible  ;  but  though  broken,  and1 
reduced  to  contend  singly,  sometimes  each  man  with  several  anta- 
gonists, each  better  armed  than  himself,  they  fought  desperately, 
selling  their  lives  only  at  the  price  of  lives. 

Among  others  my  eye  was  attracted  by  the  appearance  of 
Brown,  who  was  pressed  by  three  enemies,  one  of  them  an  officer, 
and  that  so  warmly  that  he  was  obliged  to  give  back,  approaching 
very  near  where  I  lay  ;  but  he  wielded  his  cutlass  with  astonishing 
address,  defending  himself  from  the  blows  of  his  antagonists,  in- 
flicting others,  in  fact  many  more,  than  he  himself  received.  One  dex- 
terous thrust  rid  him  of  the  officer,  who  fell  at  his  feet,  mortally 
wounded  ;  but  his  place  was  immediately  supplied  by  another  offi- 
cer in  militiary  garb,  who  sprang  forward,  crying,  with  a  voice 
of  thunder,  in  the  Spanish  tongue — "  I  have  found  the  miscreant 
— leave  him  to  me  !  " 

It  was  the  Intendent,  Colonel  Aubrey,  my  uncle — the  avenger 
of  his  brother  and  of  Isabel. 

"  Ready  for  all  of  you,  d — n  my  blood  !  "  cried  Hellcat,  meeting 
the  new  assailant  with  the  greater  intrepidity,  as  the  two  others, 
obeying  my  uncle's  furious  injunction,  stepped  back,  leaving  him 
to  subdue  the  outlaw  alone.  A  few  ferocious  blows  were  ex- 


360  ADVENTUKES     OP 

changed  between  them  ;  but  the  advantage  of  skill,  and  the 
energy  that  arises  from  deep  passion  and  determination,  were  on 
the  side  of  my  kinsman,  who,  with  one  savage  blow,  wounded  and 
well  nigh  disabled  his  antagonist,  and  with  another  would  have 
slain  him,  but  that  the  treacherous  steel  fell  to  pieces  in  his  hand. 
"  It  is  my  turn  now,  sink  me  to  h —  !  "  cried  Brown,  rushing  for- 
ward and  putting  all  his  remaining  strength  into  an  effort  meant 
to  dispatch  his  enemy ;  but  was  arrested  by  yet  another  antago- 
nist, no  less  a  person,  indeed,  than  the  gallant  Captain  Dare,  who, 
running  suddenly  up,  struck  Brown  at  unawares  under  the  sword- 
arm,  and  ran  him  through  the  body. 

"  You  have  robbed  me  of  my  vengeance,  but  you  have  saved 
any  life  ! "  cried  Colonel  Aubrey,  as  Brown  measured  his  length 
on  the  sands  ;  and  then,  catching  up  the  wounded  officer's  sword, 
my  kinsman  sprang  forward  to  seek  other  objects  of  vengeance. 
His  eye  fell  upon  me,  and  it  was  burning  with  unsated  lust  of 
Mood  ;  I  had  raised  myself  again  upon  my  elbow,  and  strove 
,to  rise  to  my  feet,  but  could  not  ;  I  endeavored  to  speak,  to  call 
3iim  by  name,  to  avert,  by  a  single  word,  the  wrath  that  seemed 
about  to  destroy  me  ;  but  nothing  came  from  my  lips  but  a  gush 
•of  bloody  foam,  and  I  fell  down  upon  my  face  without  sense  or 
^notion. 


KOBIN    DAT.  361 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 

In  which  Robin  Day  meets  with  many  delightful  surprises,  takes 
d  new  name,  and  explains  such  circumstances  as  require  expla- 
nation. 

IT  was  many,  many  days  before  I  awoke  again  to  life.  In  truth, 
that  unlucky  musket  bullet,  by  which  I  had  been  prostrated,  with- 
out much  suspecting  its  agency  in  my  downfall,  had  passed  through 
my  body,  inflicting  desperate  mischief  in  its  way,  from  which  I 
never  could  have  recovered,  had  not  Heaven  sent  me  such  assist- 
ance as  could  only  be  found  in  a  skillful  and  devoted  physician, 
and  endowed  me  with  a  constitution  capable  of  withstanding  the 
severest  shocks  and  injuries. 

I  opened  my  eyes  in  a  strange  room,  to  look  upon  a  stranger 
sight ;  it  was  my  friend  and  patron,  Dr.  Howard,  who  was  bend- 
ing over  me  with  looks  of  deep  anxiety,  one  hand  lying  upon  my 
breast,  as  if  feeling  whether  life  was  yet  beating  at  my  heart,  the 
other  holding  a  cup  from  which  he  had  just  poured  some  hot  and 
pungent  liquid  between  my  lips.  I  could  express  the  sense  of 
pleasure  mingled  with  surprise,  which  I  felt  at  sight  of  him,  only 
by  a  faint  smile,  being  incapable  of  any  speech  or  motion  ;  but 
the  look  was  perceived,  and  drew  from  him  an  exclamation — 
"  God  be  praised  !  he  is  yet  alive ! "  and  I  then  saw  other  counte- 
nances bending  over  me,  that  filled  me  with  still  greater  delight, 
though  it  was  like  the  delight  of  a  dream,  vague,  confused  and 
confusing.  The  first  was  that  of  my  sister  Isabel  :  I  thought  I 
was  in  heaven  with  her  ;  but  she  was  sobbing  over  me,  and  by  her 
side  was  Colonel  Aubrey,  looking  haggard  with  grief  ;  and  I  knew 
that  such  feelings  belonged  not  to  heaven,  but  to  earth.  Was  I 
not  dreaming  ?  I  was  sure  I  must  be ;  for  the  next  visage  that 
met  my  eyes  was  that  of  Nanna  Howard.  Yes,  it  was  Nanna  her- 
self, but  pale  and  wasted,  and  with  the  look  that  spoke  of  the 
canker-worm  preying  on  the  heart..  There  were  still  others  about 
me — shadowy  forms,  in  which  I  might  dimly  trace,  or  fancy,  the 


362  ADVENTURES    OF 

lineaments  of  other  friends — my  friend  Dicky  Dare,  little  Tommy, 
the  piiest  and  the  casera ;  but  they  soon  vanished  away,  with  all 
the  former  ones,  excepting  Dr.  Howard  and  Isabel,  who  still  re- 
mained at  my  side.  In  fact,  as  I  afterwards  understood,  they  had 
been  summoned  together  to  see  me  die,  and  were  only  dismissed 
from  the  room  when  it  was  discovered  I  had  taken  a  new  lease  of 
existence. 

The  powers  of  life  rallied  at  the  last  gasp;  gathered,  after  a  day 
or  two  of  uncertainty,  fresh  strength;  and  in  a  week  more  I  was 
out  of  danger,  rejoicing,  in  the  arms  of  my  sister  and  uncle  (for  my 
claims  to  the  relationship  were  now  established  upon  evidence 
much  stronger  than  my  own  eager  belief),  and  in  the  society  of 
Nanna  and  her  father,  over  those  wonderful  circumstances  to 
which  we  owed  the  happiness  of  our  meeting. 

But  let  me  take  up  the  story  of  explanation  at  the  period  when 
the  invalids  of  the  Querida,  with  the  priest  and  the  casera,  were 
committed  to  the  sea  in  the  long-boat,  and  left  to  perish.  Happier 
than  I,  who  sought  so  vainly,  and  indeed  foolishly,  to  join  them, 
they  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  discovered,  early  the  next  morn- 
ing, by  a  Spanish  vessel  bound  to  the  port  they  had  left,  and  which 
they  returned  to  with  the  dismal  story  of  the  capture  of  the  brig, 
the  murder  of  her  crew,  the  fate  of  the  hapless  Isabel.  The  Ven- 
gador  was  then  in  the  bay;  in  two  hours  she  was  under  sail  with 
the  Intendent  on  board,  in  pursuit  of  the  Viper,  though  with  little 
hope  of  overtaking  her.  Captain  Dicky,  always  ready  to  volun- 
teer where  there  was  a  prospect  of  fighting,  was  also  on  board; 
and  he  was  the  more  anxious  to  accompany  the  expedition,  as  he 
hoped  to  reclaim  his  unfortunate  followers,  seduced  by  a  strange 
error  and  misfortune  from  the  path  of  their  duty — and  perhaps, 
also,  to  save  their  necks  from  the  halter. 

Little  Tommy  was  also  carried  with  them,  as  it  was  thought  his 
acquaintance  with  a  portion  pf  Hellcat's  followers,  the  original 
crew  of  the  Jumping  Jenny,  might  be  productive  of  useful  testi- 
mony againet  them. 

The  pirates  had  lost  several  days  cruising  up  and  down  in  search 
of  the  fugitive  jolly  boat ;  they  were  returning,  in  all  the  ill  humor 
of  disappointment,  to  their  accustomed  harbor,  when  accident  threw 
in  their  way  another  prize,  the  Fair  American ;  the  reports  of  the 
guns,  heard  at  a  great  distance,  brought  the  Vengador  to  the  scene 
of  battle. 


ROBIN    DAY.  363 

The  Viper  was  immediately  captured,  and  a  prize-crew  put  on 
"board,  with  orders  to  dispatch  a  boat  to  the  Fair  American,  to  res- 
cue, perhaps,  some  of  her  mangled  crew  who  might  be  still  living, 
and  could  be  easily  saved ;  for,  in  reality,  the  torch  had  been  hur- 
riedly applied  to  some  of  the  sails,  which,  with  the  rigging,  had 
been  consumed,  leaving  the  hull  of  the  vessel  almost  unharmed; 
while  the  Vengador  gave  immediate  chase  to  the  Querida. 

The  result  of  the  pursuit  has  been  already  seen.  From  one  of 
the  few  pirates  taken  alive  from  the  Viper  Colonel  Aubrey 
learned  the  escape  of  his  adopted  daughter  ;  but  he  could  well 
believe,  with  his  informant,  she  had  fled  from  the  Querida  only  to 
perish  with  her  deliverer.  And  the  assurance  that  she  had  thus 
been  driven  to  an  untimely  grave  among  the  waves  of  ocean  did 
not  abate  the  feeling  of  rancorous  revenge  which  impelled  him  to 
attack  the  pirate  amid  the  horrors  of  the  tempest  which  carried 
him  with  her  among  the  breakers,  and  was  not  sated  until  the 
last  of  the  freebooters  had  been  cut  to  pieces  on  the  strand. 

Then,  indeed,  his  fury  relented,  and  such  of  the  wretches  as 
still  survived  were  collected,  and,  with  his  own  wounded,  carried 
to  a  distant  hacienda,  or  plantation,  where  such  assistance  was 
given  them  as  could  be  obtained  ;  and  hearing  that  a  foreign 
physician,  an  American,  who  had  visited  the  island  with  a  sick 
daughter,  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  tropical  air,  was  at  another 
plantation,  some  miles  off,  he  dispatched  a  messenger  to  solicit  his 
attendance  upon  the  wounded. 

That  stranger  physician  was  my  patron,  Dr.  Howard  ;  and  I  was 
the  first  patient  whom  Colonel  Aubrey  besought  him  to  take  in 
charge. 

The  account  of  my  instrumentality  in  saving  Isabel,  which  he 
Tiad  received  from  the  captive  pirate,  after  the  previous  stories 
told  him  by  the  chaplain  and  casera  of  the  attempt  I  had  made  in 
her  favor  at  the  moment  of  capture,  had  long  since  driven  sus- 
picion and  anger  from  my  uncle's  mind,  and  I  had  greatly  mis- 
taken his  feelings,  when,  approaching  me  as  I  lay  wounded  on  the 
strand,  I  fancied  I  beheld  fury  and  vengeance  in  his  aspect.  They 
were  feelings  of  amazement  at  my  appearance,  whom  he  thought 
buried  with  Isabel  in  the  sea,  and,  still  more,  of  sudden  hope,  of 
eager  curiosity,  of  anxious  solicitude  on  her  account,  for  from  me 
perhaps  he  might  learn  the  secret  of  her  fate. 

This  secret  he  was  destined  soon  to  learn  from  others.     The 


364  ADVENTURES     OP 

"boat  from  the  Viper  had  reached  the  Fair  American  ;  Isabel  and 
the  captain's  wife  were  discovered  and  released  ;  the  Viper,  though 
crippled,  stood  out  the  gale,  and  in  the  morning  made  a  harbor  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  scene  of  shipwreck  and  battle.  The 
messenger  dispatched  for  Dr.  Howard  found  him  already  engaged 
in  the  duties  of  humanity  among  the  wounded  of  the  Viper  ;  he 
obeyed  the  summons,  and  Isabel  attended  him  to  her  amazed  and 
rejoicing  uncle. 

The  story  of  the  rosary  was  soon  told  ;  it  was  found  upon  my 
neck,  and  identified  both  by  Dr.  Howard  and  my  uncle  ;  and, 
while  I  still  lay  unconscious,  hovering  between  life  and  death,  the 
evidence  of  two  living  witnesses  of  my  father's  death,  Captain 
Brown  and  the  miserable  Skipper  Duck,  had  established  my  identity 
with  the  "  little  Juan"  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt. 

Brown  survived  his  wounds  three  days  and  died  the  hardened 
villain  he  had  lived ;  but,  being  appealed  to  my  uncle,  he  readily 
confessed  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  my  father.  The  wealth 
of  the  unhappy  exile  was  a  temptation  Brown,  a  dissolute  and 
unprincipled  fellow,  although  not  then  a  pirate,  could  not  resist. 
The  crew  of  the  Sally  Ann  were  one  by  one  gained  over  to  his; 
purpose  ;  they  rose  in  the  night,  killed  the  master,  my  father,  and 
his  attendants,  and  then,  scuttling  the  vessel,  betook  them  to  a, 
boat,  and  reached  the  land,  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  off,  the  fol- 
lowing day.  Brown  insisted  to  the  last  that  he  wanted  to  save 
the  baby — that  is,  myself — but  that  the  others  objected,  lest  it 
should  lead  to  a  discovery  of  their  villainy  ;  and  all  he  could 
obtain  for  me  was  the  privilege  of  being  left  to  go  down  with  the 
schooner  alive.  He  did  not  know,  and  could  not  understand,  why 
the  schooner  did  not  go  down,  as  he  bored  the  holes  through  her 
bottom  himself  ;  but  he  supposed  it  was  all  owing  to  me,  he  said 
ending  his  confession  with  a  brutal  jest,  "  because  them  that  was. 
born  to  be  hanged,  d — n  his  blood,  they  couldn't  be  drowned." 

Skipper  Duck  was  captured  on  board  the  Viper,  where  his- 
miserable  condition  procured  him  quarter  and  even  pity.  I  have 
sometimes  suspected  it  was  owing  to  his  having  been  for  so 
many  days  deprived  of  my  medical  attentions,  but  he  had  grown 
much  better  in  the  interim,  and  recovered  his  senses,  and  Dr. 
Howard  thought,  at  first,  that  he  would  recover.  In  considera- 
tion of  his  not  having  taken,  as,  indeed,  he  could  not,  any  part  iir 
Brown's  late  atrocities  (excepting  the  capture  of  the  Viper  alone) s. 


ROBUST     DAY.  365 

and  of  the  importance  of  his  testimony  to  my  interests,  Colonel 
Aubrey  pledged  his  influence  to  procure  him  a  free  pardon,  upon, 
condition  of  his  also  making  a  confession  of  all  the  circumstances- 
attending  the  catastrophe  of  the  Sally  Ann,  which  he  immedi- 
ately did.  He  confirmed  Brown's  story  in  nearly  all  its  parts,, 
and  confessed  that  he  had  purchased  his  vessel,  the  Jumping; 
Jenny,  out  of  his  share  of  the  plunder,  intending  to  live  an  honest; 
life  for  the  future,  and  declared  he  had  lived  as  honest  a  one  as: 
he  could.  He1  insisted,  however,  that  it  was  he  who  saved  my 
life,  and  not  Brown  ;  and  that  he  had  bought  me  of  old  Mother- 
Moll  for  the  purpose  of  befriending  me,  a  pious  intention 
which  he  admitted  he  had  not  fulfilled,  and  could  not,  "  because 
the  devil  was  in  him,  and  he  never  looked  at  me  without  hating 
me."  His  malice,  I  fancy,  may  be  explained  by  the  maxim  of 
the  philosopher  that  he  is  our  bitterest  enemy  who  is  conscious 
he  has  done  us  the  deepest  wrong.  The  poor  wretch  did  not. 
live  to  enjoy  the  offered  pardon  ;  his  delirium  returned  after  a- 
few  days,  and  before  I  had  recovered  strength  to  leave  my 
bed  he  expired  miserably  of  gangrene,  the  consequence  of  the 
terrible  scourging  he  had  received. 

He  made,  before  he  died,  another  confession,  by  which  little 
Tommy's  claims  were  as  satisfactorily  established  as  my  own.  He 
admitted  that  the  boy  was  Dr.  Howard's  lost  son,  that  he  had  kid- 
napped him  out  of  revenge  against  his  father,  to  whose  efforts  to 
bring  him  to  justice  for  his  barbarity  to  me  he  properly  attri- 
buted all  the  punishments  that  followed — the  imprisonment,  the 
heavy  fine  by  which  he  was  robbed  of  all  the  gaining  of  years, 
and  the  lynching  that  ended  the  chapter  of  retributions ,  not  to 
speak  of  the  loss  of  so  valuable  a  slave  as  I  had  been.  Accident 
brought  little  Tommy  into  his  power,  for  having  swam  ambi- 
tiously into  the  river  among  the  vessels  lying  at  anchor,  fatigue 
compelled  him  to  take  refuge  for  a  while  in  the  one  nearest  him, 
which  unfortunately  proved  to  be  the  Jumping  Jenny,  them 
making  her  last  visit  to  the  town.  Upon  being  roughly  questioned^ 
he  told  his  name  to  Duck,  who  immediately  thrust  him  into  the 
hold,  and,  soon  after,  setting  sail,  carried  him  off,  leaving  his. 
parents  mourning  for  his  supposed  death.  From  that  moment, 
the  unfortunate  lad  became  the  object  upon  which  he  vented  all 
the  fury  of  his  brutality  and  revenge  ;  and  it  is  not  wonderful 
that  five  years  of  cruelty  had  changed  him  from  a  bright  and 


366  ADVENTURES     OF 

generous  boy  into  the  stupid,  vindictive  cub  I  had  found  him. 
Alas  !  his  restoration  to  the  arms  of  his  father  and  sister  produced 
less  of  rapture  than  pain  and  humiliation  ;  but  they  remembered 
that  I  had  been  rescued  from  degradation  as  deep  and  unprom- 
ising, and  they  hoped  a  similar  happy  resurrection  for  him. 

But  what  had  brought  them — my  benefactor  and  Nanna — thus 
so  opportunely  to  the  island  ?  It  was  an  expedient  adopted  to 
save  the  life  of  Nanna,  who,  while  I  was  so  ready  to  forget  my 
allegiance,  to  forget  her,  and  fall  so  violently  in  love  with  my  own 
sister  (but  that,  after  all,  was  mere  nature  and  instinct,  a  burst  of 
preordained  fraternal  affection,  which  a  boy  of  nineteen,  or  rather 
less,  might  naturally  mistake  for  love  of  another  kind),  was  re- 
membering me  in  tears,  and  pining  away  with  grief  over  the  sup- 
posed fall  and  ruin  of  one  she  loved  better  than  she,  or  I,  or  any 
one  else  suspected. 

The  affair  of  M'Goggin,  who  was  for  more  than  twenty-four 
hours  supposed  to  be  dying,  though  he  suddenly  remitted  and 
got  well  in  a  very  few  days,  was  of  itself  such  a  shock  to  Nanna' s 
spirits  and  health  that  her  father  was  doubly  rejoiced  upon  her 
account,  when  the  favorable  change  in  M'Goggin's  symptoms  al- 
lowed him  to  dispatch  a  messenger  with  a  permission  or  com- 
mand for  my  immediate  return.  The  reader  has  seen  how  my  re- 
turn was  prevented  by  my  suspicions  of  the  messenger.  The  news 
of  the  trick  by  which  I  effected  my  escape  from  Mr.  John  Dabs 
reached  my  benefactor  at  the  same  moment  that  he  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  my  midnight  visit  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Blood- 
money  ;  not  to  speak  of  the  rumors  of  the  highway  robbery, 
which  had  also  been  brought  to  his  ears.  And,  soon  after,  there 
came  an  account — I  know  not  how  such  an  unlucky  truth  could 
reach  him — that  I  had  entered  the  British  service,  and,  of  course, 
turned  traitor  to  my  country.  The  effect  of  these  unlucky  stories, 
it  may  be  imagined,  had  the  unhappiest  effect  upon  the  little  repu- 
tation I  had  left  behind  me,  and  upon  the  minds  of  my  friends. 
It  was  in  vain  Dr.  Howard  strove  to  make  others  believe,  and  to 
believe  himself,  that  there  was  some  inexplicable  error  and  illu- 
sion at  the  bottom  of  the  affair  ;  that  it  was  impossible  I  could  so 
suddenly  have  been  transformed  from  a  thoughtless,  innocent  boy, 
into  a  desperate  and  accomplished  rogue  ;  his  visit  to  Mr.  Blood- 
money  proved  my  share  in  the  burglary  beyond  question.  My  hat 
and  knapsack,  the  latter  full  of  Mr.  Bloodrnoney's  plate,  were  evi- 


EOBIN    DAY.  367 

dence  too  strong  to  be  resisted  ;  and  nothing  spoke  in  my  favor 
except  my  parting  asseveration  to  Isabel  that  I  was  no  robber  or 
villain,  and  this  spoke  but  faintly,  as  my  actions  seemed  so  clearly 
to  establish  the  contrary. 

A  letter  from  me  might  have  cleared  up  the  whole  mystery,  and 
one  was  long  impatiently  expected,  but  expected  in  vain.  It  was 
many  weeks  before  I  had  an  opportunity  to  write;  and  it  was  some 
months  before  my  letter,  committed  to  a  provincial  post-office, 
and  exposed  to  all  the  irregularities  and  accidents  of  a  period  of 
war,  reached  its  destination.  It  cleared  up  my  character, 
indeed,  at  least  to  my  patron's  mind  ;  but  it  came  too  late 
to  repair  the  mischief  inflicted  upon  poor  Nanna's  health.  She 
was  rapidly  sinking  into  a  decline,  and  the  distracted  father,  doubly 
distracted  in  consequence  of  the  wonderful  story  of  little  Tommy 
told  in  the  letter,  leaving  to  others  the  task  of  recovering  his  lost 
son,  was  glad  to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  a  Spanish  vessel  sail- 
ing to  Cuba  to  carry  his  daughter  thither  as  the  only  means  left 
of  arresting  a  malady  that  was  fast  threatening  to  become  fatal. 

A  pleasant  situation  on  a  lonely  plantation  near  the  coast,  the 
benignant  air,  and  the  explanations  in  my  letter,  with  the  hope 
which  never  abandons  the  youthful  spirit,  had  already  produced  a 
favorable  change  in  the  maiden's  health,  which,  notwithstanding 
the  shock  of  my  sudden  and  lamentable  appearance,  wounded  al- 
most to  death,  was  gradually  confirmed,  and,  indeed,  thoroughly 
re-established,  before  I  myself  was  entirely  restored  to  my  wonted 
strength. 


368  ADVENTURES     OP 


CHAPTER    LXV. 

In  which  Robin  Day  takes  leave  of  his  adventures  and  the  reader. 

WITH  the  explanations  contained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  I 
might  terminate  my  narrative,  as  there  is  nothing  to  follow  which 
might  not  be  readily  imagined.  Yet  as  a  few  words  will  complete 
the  story,  it  is  but  proper  I  should  write  them. 

As  soon  as  I  was  well  enough  to  be  removed,  the  whole  party  of 
friends  whom  destiny  had  thus  so  strangely  brought  together 
were  carried  by  my  uncle  to  one  of  his  estates,  which,  being  near 
the  coast,  we  reached  by  water  in  a  single  day;  and  there  we  all 
passed  a  very  happy  Winter,  my  uncle  having  resigned  his  Inten- 
dency  at  Pensacola  that  he  might  watch  over  my  recovery  and 
repay  by  hospitable  attentions,  and  his  warmest  friendship,  the 
debt  of  gratitude  he  professed  to  owe  the  protector  of  my  friend- 
less youth. 

The  Spring  saw  Nanna  restored  to  health,  as  blooming  and  as 
joyous  as  my  sister,  who,  wTith  the  enthusiasm  of  her  nature,  soon 
became  her  warm  and  devoted  friend. 

But  the  Spring  did  not  see  her  removed  from  us.  Dr.  Howard 
had  experienced  the  happy  effects  of  the  tropical  air  upon  the 
maiden's  health,  and  was  easily  seduced  to  prolong  his  stay — to 
talk  even  of  purchasing  an  estate  and  submitting  to  an  exile  of  an 
indefinite  period  in  a  climate  so  auspicious  to  the  life  of  his  dearest 
child!  And,  besides,  after  a  great  deal  of  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject between  my  uncle  and  him,  between  Isabel  and  Nanna,  and 
between  Nanna  and  me,  it  was  at  last  unanimously  decided  that 
there  was  no  reason  why  they  should  ever  leave  the  island  at  all, 
or,  at  least,  no  reason  why  Nanna  should.  In  short,  it  was  agreed, 
with  the  full  consent  of  Isabel,  who  merrily  absolved  me  of  all  the 
vows  I  had  made  her,  that  a  match  should  be  made  between  Nanna 
and  myself,  and  a  year  afterwards  I  had  the  happiness  of  leading 
her  to  the  altar,  little  Tommy,  who,  by  this  time,  was  converted 
into  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  although  a  young  one,  playing 


KOBIN    DAY.  369* 

the  part  of  paranymph,  while  Isabel,  who  had  trained  him  with 
great  care  for  the  purpose,  appeared  the  happiest  and  most  beauti- 
ful of  bridesmaids. 

If  I  had  had  my  will  in  the  premises  we  should  have  had  a 
second  wedding  the  same  day.  My  sister  was  not  more  anxious 
to  make  a  match  between  me  and  her  friend,  than  I  was,  or  would 
have  been,  to  make  another  between  her  and  mine.  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  bestow  her  upon  my  friend  Dicky  ;  and  I  have  na 
doubt  she  would  have  fallen  heartily  in  love  with  him,  had  he 
asked  her,  because  Dicky  was,  in  reality,  a  very  handsome  fellow, 
and  what  maiden  could  have  resisted  so  gallant  a  soldier  ?  But 
Dicky  was  wedded  to  glory  ;  he  was  as  ready  as  Othello  to  recount 
to  Isabel  the  histories  of  his  wars,  but  he  never  cared  to  take  her 
in  the  pliant  hour,  like  that  worthy  blackamoor  ;  and,  in  fact,  I 
doubt  greatly  whether  any,  the  remotest,  idea  of  love  and  matri- 
mony ever  entered  his  warlike  brain.  He  was  never  truly  content 
until  my  uncle  had  packed  him  off,  with  his  four  volunteers,  the 
poor  wreck  of  his  company,  and  with  some  valuable  presents  of 
horses  and  arms,  which  I  was  now  able  to  make  him,  to  Mobile, 
aftei  which,  we  lost  sight  of  him,  though  we  heard  he  rejoined  the 
American  army,  and  fought  through  the  whole  of  the  campaign 
that  terminated  in  the  brilliant  victory  at  New  Orleans.  The  next 
year — a  year,  in  the  United  States,  of  peace,  of  which  Captain 
Dicky  soon  grew  sick — fortune  opened  to  him  a  new  field  of  com- 
bat ;  he  went  to  Mexico  with  the  celebrated  Mina,  with  whom  he 
might  have  had  the  honor  of  being  shot  as  a  heroic  freebooter, 
with  a  bandage  round  his  eyes,  had  not  ambition  conducted  him  to 
an  earlier  and  more  glorious  grave.  The  same  great  spirit  which 
carried  him,  with  a  single  company,  into  the  heart  of  the  Creek 
nation,  to  snatch  the  conquest  out  of  the  hands  of  his  brigadier, 
was  revived  in  Mexico.  He  took  an  opportunity  one  day  to  separate 
himself  from  his  commander,  and  set  out  with  a  force  of  fifty  men, 
and  the  commission,  or  title,  of  Colonel,  which  Mina  had  conferred 
on  him,  to  liberate  the  Mexican  nation  on  his  own  account.  He 
doubtless  calculated  upon  receiving  great  assistance  from  the 
Mexican  nation  itself,  and  having  his  command  swelled  by  suc- 
cessive patriots  into  a  countless  army  ;  but  before  any  reinforce- 
ments appeared  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be  attacked  by  vastly 
superior  numbers,  and  was,  with  his  whole  company,  cut  to- 
pieces. 


370  ADVENTUEES   OF   ROBIN   DAY. 

My  brother  Tommy,  who,  as  his  mind  re-expanded,  betrayed  a 
somewhat  similar  inclination  for  a  life  of  glory,  has  had  a  happier 
fate,  but  on  another  element,  for  which,  unlike  me,  he  contracted 
a  passion,  even  under  the  rough  tutelage  of  Skipper  Duck.  His 
father,  at  his  earnest  desire,  placed  him  in  the  American  navy,  in 
which  he  is  now  a  distinguished  officer. 

Years  have  since  passed  away  and  effected  other  changes  in  the 
circle  of  friends  that  originally  graced  and  gladdened  my  island 
home.  My  uncle  and  father-in-law  have  vanished  away  ;  but  they 
vanished  away  in  the  fullness  of  years,  and  their  places  have  been 
filled  by  young  strangers,  who  bear  their  names  and  the  names  of 
Nanna  and  Isabel. 

With  these  around  me,  a  loving  wife  and  devoted  sister  at  my 
side,  with  peace,  and  affluence,  and  happiness  under  my  roof,  and 
the  wisdom  of  advancing  years  stealing  into  my  head,  I  can  look 
back  without  regret  and  review  with  smiles  the  tissue  of  misfor- 
tunes by  which  I  was  led  to  such  enviable  possessions  ;  and  Juan 
Aubrey  can  attribute  his  felicity  to  the  schoolboy  follies  and 
adventures  of  ROBIN  DAY. 


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